
Glass- 
Book 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



A SCHOOL 
HISTORY OF TEXAS 



EUGENE C. BARKER 

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, THF. 
UNIVKRSITY OF TEXAS 

CHARLES SHIRLEY POTTS 

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT. THE UNIVERSITY 

OF TEXAS (fORMEKLV ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF 

HISTORY AND ECONOMICS IN THE 

A. AND M. COLLEGE OF TEXAS.) 

CHARLES W. RAMSDELL 

INSTRUCTOR IN HISTORY, THE UNIVERSITY 
OF TEXAS 




CHICAGO 

HOW, petp:rson cV- company 



Copyright, 1912, by 

EUGENE C. BAEKER, CHARLES SHIRLEY POTTS, 
AND CHARLES W. EAMSDELL. 



©CU314190 



PREFACE 

This book aims to present in form sufficiently sim- 
ple for young readers the essential facts of the his- 
tory of Texas. To bring it within the grasp of fifth 
and sixth grade pupils and to make it a thoroughly 
useful tool in the hands of the teacher, we have 
steadily sought to give it the qualities of accuracy, 
directness, and fairness. We believe that our sym- 
pathetic reverence for the history of our native 
state, our knowledge of the subject, and our ex- 
perience as teachers in the public schools and col- 
leges of Texas have enabled us to accomplish this 
end with measurable success. We have written 
only what is important to an understanding of the 
making of Texas, and we have shown at each step 
why it is important, so that the pupil should be in no 
doubt at any time of the significance of what he 
reads. The illustrations have been chosen with a 
view to instruct as well as to entertain children; 
geographical questions are illustrated by numerous 
maps; and at the end of each chapter are a list of 
questions, designed to emphasize the principal 
points of the chapter, and a list of simple and inter- 
esting reading which may be used to supplement 
the text. 



vi PEEFACE 

It is hoped that teachers will be helped by the 
material in the appendices. Appendix II offers sug- 
gestions for the teaching of ea,ch chapter, with a 
list of additional reading for those teachers who 
have the time and the opportunity to pursue it. 
Appendix III is a detailed outline of the book, which 
should be followed in the class, and which should be 
used especially in reviews. The teacher will observe 
that the Table of Contents forms a brief general out- 
line. Appendix IV gives a list of the presidents and 
governors of Texas with the dates of their adminis- 
trations. Chapters XI and XII may, if necessary, 
be omitted without detriment to the narrative. 

We are indebted to Mr. E. W. Winkler, of the 
Texas State Library, for reading the greater part 
of the manuscript and offering many helpful sug- 
gestions. We are also indebted to numerous friends 
for photographs and other illustrative material. 

THE AUTHORS. 



CONTENTS 

Preface V 

List of Dates XIIT 

Chapter. 

I. The Background of Texas History (1492- 

1689) 1 

1. The Spanish Chum to Texas 1 

2. The French Claim to Texas 5 

3. The English in America 10 

II. Spain Begins to Occupy Texas (1690-1714) ... 12 

III. Spain Takes Possession op Texas (1714- 

1800 21 

1. The French in Louisiana Stir the Spanish 

to Occupy Texas 21 

2. The Spanish Settlement of Texas 27 

3. Life in the Spanish Settlements 34 

4. Trouble With the French 39 

IV. The Americans Become Acquainted With 

Texas (1798-1820) 47 

1. Spain Gets a New Neighbor, the United 

States 47 

2. Americans Begin to Invade Texas 51 

a. Nolan's Expedition 51 

b. The Gutierrez and Magee Expedition. 53 

c. Long's Expedition 56 

V. Colonization: The Americans Settle Texas 

(1821-1835) 61 

1. Texas Gets a New Owner, Mexico 61 

2. The American Colonies in Texas 66 

3. Life in the Colonies 72 

YI. The Texas Eevolution : The Americans Take 

Texas (1821-1836) 83 

1. The General Causes of the Eevolution. ... 83 

2, The Immediate Causes of the Revolution. . !)7 

vii 



viii CONTENTS 

3. The Campaign of 1835 100 

4. The Government of Texas During the 

Revolution 108 

5. The campaign of 1836 114 

a. The Fall of the Alamo 115 

b. The Goliad Massacre 123 

c. The Battle of San Jacinto 133 

YII. The Republic of Texas : The American s Take 

Texas (1836-1846) 143 

1. Home Affairs 143 

a. The Restoration of Order 145 

b. The Regular Government of the Re- 

public 150 

c. The Financial Affairs of the Republic. 157 

d. Indian Troubles 160 

y^ e. The Growth of Population and Wealth 164 

2. Foreign Affairs 169 

a. Relations With European Countries. . 169 

b. Relations With Mexico 171 

c. Relations With the United States 180 

VIII. Early Statehood: From Annexation to Se- 
cession (1846-1861) 188 

1. The Establishment of a State (government. 188 

3. The War Between the United States and 

Mexico 188 

3. The Boundary Dispute With the United 

States ^ 193 

4. The Settlement of the Public Debt 196 

y 5. Expansion of Population and Industries. . . 199 

^ 6. The Approach of Civil War 203 

IX. Civil AVAR AND Reconstruction (1861-1874).. 210 

1. The Civil War 210 

a. Texas Secedes and Joins the Confed- 

eracy 210 

b. The War in Texas 213 

c. Conditions in Texas During the \\'ar. . 219 

2. Reconstruction. 

a. Restoration of Civil Government l)y 
President Johnson t'l\ 



CONTENTS ix 

b. Military IJiile and Radical Eoeonstruc- 

tion Established by Congress 227 

c. The Problem of the Negroes 230 

d. Eeadmission to the Union; Radioal 

Rule Under Governor Davis 234 

e. The Close of Reconstruction 236 

X. The State Since Reconstruction : Forty 

Years of Progress (1874-1912) 243 

1. Financial Conditions in 1876 245 

2. The Establishment of Law and Order 247 

3. The Capitol 249 

4. Railroad and Trust Regulation 253 

5. Texas in the Spanish AVar 259 

6. The Brazos Floods and the Galveston Storm 261 

7. Political Parties 265 

• 8. The Terrell Election Law 268 

XL Material Development Since 1870 276 

1. Increase in Population and Wealth 276 -'^ 

2. Development of Agriculture 283 

3. The Live Stock Industry 289 

4. Development of Means of Communication. 293 

5. ^Mining and Manufacturing 300 

XII. Education and Public Charity 308 

Appendix I. Declaration of Independence, March 2, 

1836 329 

Appendix 11. Suggestions to Teachers, Arranged by 

Chapters 334 

Appendix III. Outline 355 

Appendix IV. Li«t of the Presidents and Governors of 

Texas 3 77 

Index 379 



LIST OF MAPS 

Page 

Possessions of European Nations, 1700 9 

The Route from Cuba to Santa Fe 13 

The Old San Antonio Road 28 

English and Spanish Possessions, 1763 48 

English and Spanish Possessions, 1803 50 

Spanish Settlements in Texas to 1800 63 

Some Earlj' Colonial Grants 70 

General Houston 's March to San Jacinto 133 

Disputed Territory at Outbreak of the Mexican War 190 

Territory Claimed by Texas and Sold to the United States 

in 1850 ' 195 

Railroads in Texas Before the Civil War 201 

Federal Plan of Invading Texas Through Sabine Pass 216 

areer County 251 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page. 

The Capitol Frontispiece 

Horse and Soldier in Armor 2 

An Indian Pueblo 4 

La Salle 7 

An Old Spanish Picture 14 

A Missionary Father 17 

Indian Arrow Heads 22 

Indian Basket Maker 24 

Peace Pipe 29 

Entrance to the Alamo 31 

Carved Doorway, Mission San Jose 33 

Mission San Jose 35 

Spanish Irrigation Ditch, San Antonio 38 

An Indian Spoon 43 

Indian Pottery 44 

An Old Spanish Spur 52 

Stephen F. Austin 62 

The Cathedral, City of Mexico 65 

A Comfortable Pioneer Home 73 

Me-ta-tes, Used by the Indians and Mexicans for Mashing Corn. 77 

Old Spectacles . . ". 79 

Old Fort at Nacogdoches 93 

Austin 's Pistols and Hatchet . 96 

Cannon Used in the Eevolution 101 

Mission Coneepei(3n 104 

Rear of Cathedral San Fernando, San Antonio 107 

The Alamo 113 

The Alamo Monument 119 

Santa Anna 126 

Mission La Bahia at Goliad 129 

The Capture of Santa Anna 135 

Sam Houston 144 

Tomb of Stephen F. Austin 154 

A Comanche Cradle 162 

San Antonio About 1846 176 

The Palace of Chapultepec, City of Mexico 179 

President Anson Jones 182 

The Bishop's Palace, Monterey 191 

Guadalupe Hidalgo 193 

Governor E. M. Pease 202 

President Jefferson Davis 206 

Galveston About- 1860 211 

Cotton-clads 214 

Dick Dowling 217 

si 



xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

An Olil-Time Negro 221 

General Eobert E. Lee 222 

Governor A. J. Hamilton 224 

Governor J. W. Throckmorton 226 

The Governor 's Mansion at Austin 228 

Governor E. J. Davis 235 

Governor Richard Coke 237 

Governor James Stephen Hogg 244 

Four Distinguished Governors 252 

Judge John H. Reagan 256 

Governor C. A. Culberson 259 

Levee Work Near Brenham 261 

Governor J. D. Savers 262 

The Galveston Sea Wall 263 

The Galveston Causeway -264 

Governor S. W. T. Lanham 269 

Governor T. M. Campbell 271 

Governor O. B. Colquitt 272 

The Dallas-Oak Cliff Viaduct 278 

Group of Five High Schools 281 

A Boll Weevil 284 

Rice Irrigation in South Texas 286 

Boys ' Corn Club, Tyler 288 

Successors of the * ' Longhorn " 291 

A Stage Coach 294 

Early Passenger Train 296 

Forty Years Ago and To-day 297 

Turning Basin, Houston Ship Canal 299 

How Good Roads are Made 300 

An Oil Gusher, Beaumont 301 

Pine Forest in East Texas 303 

Class in Agriculture, Bonham High School 309 

Consolidated Rural School 315 

The University of Texas, Main Building 316 

Engineering Building, A. and M. College 318 

College of Industrial Arts for Girls 319 

Group of Four State Normal Schools 320 



IMPORTANT DATES IN TEXAS HISTORY 

1492. Discovery of America. 

1519-21. Spain's conquest of Mexico. 

1528-34. Cabeza de Yaca in Texas. 

1685-8T. La Salle in Texas. 

1690. The first Spanish settlement in Texas (Mission 

San Francisco de los Tejas). 
];i6. The settlement of East Texas. 
IT 18. The founding of San Antonio. 
1749. The founding of Goliad. 
1762. P^rance cedes Western Louisiana to Spain. 
1779. The founding of ISTacogdoches. 
1800-01. Xolan's expedition. 
1803. The United States buys Louisiana. 
1812-13. The Gutierrez and Magee Expedition. 
1819. Settlement of the boundary lietween Texas and 
Louisiana. 

Long's expedition. 
1821. The beginning of Austin's Colony. 

Mexico gains independence from Spain. 
1824. Mexico adopts a republican constitution, somewhat 

like that of the United States. 
1826. The Fredonian Rebellion. 
1830. Law of April 6, prohibiting further immigration of 

Americans into Texas. 
1832. Fighting between Mexicans and Texans at Analiuac 
and Yelasco. 

Soldiers expelled from Texas. 



xiv IMPORTANT DATES IN TEXAS HISTORY 

1833. The Convention at San Felipe petitions for separa- 

tion from Coaliiiila. 

1834. Imprisonment of Stephen F. Austin in Mexico. 

1835. October 2, battle of Gonzales. 

November 3, meeting of the Consultation at San 

Felipe. 
December 9, capture of San Antonio, and sur- 
render of General Cos. 

1836. March 2, declaration of independence, 
March 6, fall of the Alamo. 

March 17, formation of the constitution. 

March 27, the Goliad massacre. 

April 21, battle of San Jacinto. 

May 14, treaty of Velasco signed. 

October 22, General Houston begins first term as 

president. 
December 27, death of Stephen F. Austin. 

1837. The United States recognizes the independence of 

Texas. 

1838. December, General Lamar inaugurated as president 

of Texas. 

1839. Expulsion of Cherokees from East Texas. 
Eecognition of Texan independence by France. 

1840. Eecognition of Texan independence by Great 

Bi'itain. 
War with Comanches. 

1841. Santa Fe expedition. 

Second election of General Houston to the Pres- 
idency. 

1842. Failure of Santa Fe expedition. 

Mexican invasion of Texas in March and Septemljer. 
The Mier expedition. 

1843. Suspension of hostilities between Mexico and Texas. 



IMPOETANT DATES IN TEXAS HISTORY xv 

184-i. President Tyler tries to annex Texas to the United 
States. 
Dr. Anson Jones elected president of Texas. 

1845. Texas accepts annexation to the United States. 

1846. February 16, annexation completed. 

May 12, the outbreak of war between the United 
States and Mexico. 
1848. Peace of Guadalupe Hidalgo: the Rio Grande rec- 
ognized as the southern Ijoundary of Texas. 
1850. The settlement of the Texas-Xew Mexico boundary. 

The beginning of the first railroad in Texas. 
1854. The beginning of the public school system. 
1861. February 1, passage of the Ordinance of Secession. 
April 12, war begins lietween the new Confederate 
States and the United States. 
1863. January 1, recapture of Galveston by Magruder. 
September 8, battle of Sabine Pass. 

1865. April 9, surrender of General Lee at Appomattox, 

Virginia. 
June 2, surrender of Conf<jderate forces in Texas. 
June 19, all slaves in Texas declared free. 
A. J. Hamilton appointed provisional governor. 

1866. Constitutional convention. Throckmorton elected 

governor. 

1867. ]\Iarch 2, Congress places the Southern States under 

military government. 
July 30, Throckmorton removed by Sheridan. 
Xegroes given the right to vote. 

1868. June 1, meeting of the reconstruction convention. 

1869. Election of E. J. Davis as governor. 

1870. March 30, Texas restored to the Union. 
1872, Democrats gain control of the legislature. 
1874. January 15, Coke inaugurated as governor. 
1876. New (present) constitution adopted. 



xvi IMPORTANT DATES IN TEXAS HISTOEY 

Agricultural and Mechanical College opened. 
1879. Sam Houston Xormal Institute and the Prairie 
View ISTormal and Industrial College established. 
1881, Capitol at Austin burned. 
1883. The University of Texas established. 

1887. State-wide prohibition election. 

1888. New capitol completed and dedicated. 
1891. Eailroad Commission established. 

1898. The Spanish-American war. 

1899. Destructive overflows on the Brazos and other Texas 

rivers. 

1900. The Galveston storm. 

1901. North Texas State Normal College 'at Denton 

opened. 
1903. Girls' Industrial College and the Southwest Texas 

State Normal opened. 
1905. Terrell Election law passed. 

1910. Establishment of West Texas State Normal College 

at Canyon. 

1911. The second state-wide prohibition election. 




\p 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



CHAPTER I 

THE BACKGEOUND OF TEXAS HISTORY 
1. THE SPANISH CLAIM TO TEXAS 

The discovery of America. — Four hundred years 
ago in poverty and distress a great man died in 
Spain. His name was Christopher Columbus, and 
our history begins with a wonderful discovery that 
he made in 1492. This was the discovery of 
America. At that time he was an officer in the 
service of the king of Spain, and this gave Spain a 
right to claim the country that he discovered. 

Spain takes possession of the New World. — But 
the king knew that unless something was done to 
show that the ^country belonged to Spain one of his 
neighbors, the king of France or the king of Eng- 
land, might step in and take it. So he sent some 
of his men across the ocean to live in the new land 
and hold it for him. They first settled in what we 
call the West India Islands, that is, m San Domingo, 
Porto Rico, and Cuba, but very soon they went 
also to South America and to Mexico. 



A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 



The conquest of Mexico. — It is important for us 
to know something of their doings in Mexico, 
because it was from there that men were finally sent 
to settle Texas. Mexico was at that time inhab- 
ited by many tribes of Indians, and tlie most pow- 
erful of them all was the Aztecs (Az'teks), who 

lived around the present 
City of Mexico. In 1519, 
a little army of four hun- 
dred and fifty Spaniards 
sailed from Cuba and 
landed at Vera Cruz, on 
the coast of Mexico. Pro- 
tected by their armor 
from the spears and ar- 
rows of the natives, they 
were in little danger, 
while with their guns, a 
few small cannon, and 
,.j ., ^ , fifteen horses,^ they 

o:^ orrob 3bw gmdiemoa . killed thousands of the 
|i^i';^^iS,j[(^i3j(|.(:f^iglfitgi^e^o,the others into submis- 
sic^|i4 'Ju ,t}|^,[tr,^§sij^,er;i.'^fg^q^ of the Aztec chiefs the 
§g^^^:ff^ IftT^B^ l^g'^^l^^ofj^ of gold and silver, 
^J^jj9b^Jjpyi^i^p(J,^](r^yjf^^ discovered the mines 
f^j5>i^^.^tviq|i IJiJi^ jt)i;e^;&U|']fe,^1^3(|^ bcj^n taken, and com- 

,oSiFh(^<^^^#§%iJ^fim^litii40^^^(^^"^(*' in Mexico, and the 
liidJswisx^fihte mtm a/fmid Mcftheafbtlihnl>of the Spaniards' 
guns. .o'M/.')U oi bfTf? r.r>i'fom/; 




THE BACKGROUND OF TEXAS HISTOEY 3 

pelled the Indians to work them for the king of 
Spain. To govern the country for him the king 
appointed an officer whom he called the viceroy.^ 

The first Spaniards in Texas. — Soon after Spain 
had taken possession of Mexico, a large party of 
Spaniards sailing through the Gulf were ship- 
wrecked on an island off the coast of Texas. It 
may have been Galveston Island or Saint Joseph's 
or some other; the exact place is not known. Most 
of the unfortunate men were drowned, and others 
were so mistreated by the Indians that they soon 
died, but among those who survived was a shrewd 
young fellow named Cabeza de Vaca (Ka-ba'sa da 
Va'ka). At first the Indians made a slave of him, 
but after a time he became a great favorite with 
them, and they allowed him to go from tribe to tribe 
peddling arrow heads, skins, and paint, and shells, 
which the Indians used for knives. After six years 
of this life, he at last escaped with three of his ship- 
wrecked companions and made his way to friends in 
Mexico. It was from him that the king later on first 
heard of Texas. 

Captain Coronado visits Texas. — When Cabeza de 
Vaca rea^ched Mexico he found the Spaniards there 
greatly excited over rumors which they had heard 
of some wonderful cities in the country that we 
now call New Mexico. It was said that the houses 

^ The word simply means vice-king, that is, one who rules 
in place of the king. 



A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 



there were built of precious stones. Cabeza declared 
that these reports were true, that he had passed 
near the cities and had seen the houses sparkling in 
the distance. The viceroy was anxious to get such 
rich prizes for his master, the king, so he ordered 
Captain Coronado (Ko-ro-na'do) to go with an army 
and take them. For many weary months Coronado 

searched for the fab- 
ulous cities, but 
found only the poor- 
est of Indian vil- 
lages. At last he re- 
turned to the viceroy 
in despair, and ac- 
knowledged that he 
had failed. During 
his search he 
marched through 
western Texas, and 
that is the important 
thing about his expedition for us. It strengthened 
Spain's claim to Texas. 

Spain neglects Texas. — During the next hundred 
and fifty years Spaniards now and then wandered 
into Texas, but they made no effort to settle, and 
before following their story further it will be well 
to learn something about two other peoples who 
play a prominent part in the history of our state. 
These are the French and the English. 




An Indian Pueblo 



THE BACKGROUND OF TEXAS HISTORY 5 

2. THE FRENCH CLAIM TO TEXAS 

The French settle in the north. — When other 
nations saw the quantities of gold and silver that 
were brought to Spain every year from the mines 
of Mexico and South America they also became 
anxious for a portion of the New World. But the 
Spaniards already held all the south, so that these 
tardy nations had to settle elsewhere. The French 
people, therefore, made their first settlements in 
Canada, very far from Texas. They found no gold, 
but the forests were full of beautiful animals for 
whose fur the fashionable men and women of 
Europe were willing to pay large sums, so from 
the beginning the French devoted themselves to 
hunting and trapping these animals, and to bar- 
tering trinkets to the Indians for their skins. As 
soon as they hunted most of the animals out of a 
place they would move into a new territory, where 
game Avas plentiful. In this way the French moved 
rapidly westward as far as the present states of 
Wisconsin and Minnesota. 

La Salle explores the Mississippi River. — At last 
they reached the upper branches of the Mississippi 
River, and a bold explorer with a small band of 
Indians and traders floated down to its mouth in the 
Gulf of Mexico. This was in the year 1682, and the 
man was the ill-fated La Salle. ^ Setthig up a rude 

^ His full name was Eene Robert Cavalier de la Salle. He 
was born in Eouen, France, in 1643. His parents were 



g A (SCHOOL HISTOEY OP TEXAS 

cross and unfurling the French flag, he solemnly 
took possession in the name of his country of all 
the vast region drained by the Mississippi. In 
honor of the king of France, the dazzling Louis XIV, 
he named this territory Louisiana. But he knew 
that somewhere to the south of him the Spanish 
were settled, and that unless France did something 
to hold this land the Spanish would finally get it. 
He resolved, therefore, to return to France by the 
way that he had come and beg the king to let him 
come back with men enough to keep it. 

The king permits La Salle to establish a colony on 
the Mississippi. — AYhen he arrived in Paris La Salle 
learned that the kings of France and Spain were 
threatening each other with war. Louis XIV was 
glad to do anything to increase his own possessions, 
or harm his enemy, and as La Salle declared that 
Louisiana might be used as a base of operations 
from which to drive the Spanish out of Mexico, he 
readily granted his request. So La Salle set sail 
with four ships to establish a colony at the mouth 
of the Mississippi. He had on board a hundred 
soldiers, some carpenters and blacksmiths and other 
mechanics, and a number of farmers. Some of the 
men had their families with them, and intended to 

wealthy, and he received a good education. At the age of 
twenty-three he went to Canada, and spent most of the rest of 
his life in exploring the New World. In 1687 he was 
treacherously murdered by some of his men in Texas. 



THE BACKGROUND OF TEXAS HISTORY 



make their homes in the new land. In passing the 
West Indies one of the ships was captured by the 
Spaniards, which was very nnfortunato, because, in 
the first place, it .contained many of the tools for the 
colony, and in the second place, it caused the Span- 
ish to suspect the intentions of the French, and to 
take steps to check them. 

La Salle loses his way 
and lands in Texas. — 
But this was only the 
beginning of La Salle's 
misfortunes. With the 
remaining vessels he 
could not find the Missis- 
sippi. He sailed too far 
west, and toward the 
end of February, 1685, 
landed on the shore of 
Lavaca Bay, near the 
mouth of the Lavaca 
River. Here one of his 
vessels was wrecked, and one sailed back to 
France. He had but one remaining, and later 
it, too, was wrecked. For protection from the 
Indians, a fort was built some distance up the river, 
which La Salle named Fort Saint Louis. 

His fruitless search for the Mississippi. — La Salle 
now began a long and fruitless search for the Mis- 
sissippi. His supplies ran down, the Indians became 




La Salle 



8 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

hostile, and Ms people died in great numbers. Some 
of them were killed by the Indians, some were 
drowned, and one was bitten by a snake, but more 
of them died of a sickness which was strange to 
them, and which they ,called 'Hhe disease of the 
country." It was probably malaria. The whole 
party were soon reduced to despair, and were angry 
with La Salle for getting them into such a plight. 
In return he treated them harshly, and this caused 
some to hate him. Finally, in March of 1687, one 
of his men basely shot him in the back. He had 
spent most of the two years since landing in Texas 
in trying to find the Mississippi, for he knew that 
only by finding it could he ever return to Canada 
and get relief. In his wanderings he traversed a 
great part of central and eastern Texas. 

The fate of his party. — After La Salle's death 
some of his party succeeded in reaching the Mis- 
sissippi, and eventually found their way to their 
countrymen in Canada. Others, however, preferred 
to stay in Texas, and the fate of these was sad, 
indeed. An epidemic of smallpox reduced their 
number to about twenty, some of these quarreled 
and killed each other in duels, and finally the 
Indians set upon those who remained and finished 
the work. When the Spaniards ,came in search of 
them in the spring of 1689 scarcely half a dozen 
were left, scattered among various tribes of friendly 
Indians. 



THE BACKGROUND OF TEXAS HISTORY 9 

The importance of La Salle's settlement in Texas. 
— La Salle's settlement in Texas was due to an acci- 
dent, to the fact that he missed the mouth of the 
Mississippi. But it gave the king of France an 
excuse to claim the country, and thus became the 
cause of a struggle between France and Spain for 




Possessions of European Nations, 1700 
(Note the distance of the English from Texas.) 



its possession. More important still, it frightened 
the Spaniards into settling Texas sooner than they 
otherwise would have done. 

The French settle in Louisiana. — Twelve years 
after La Salle died in the wilderness of Texas 
another Frenchman planted a colony on the Gulf 
of Mexico near the present city of Mobile, and 



10 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

later a colony was established where New Orleans 
now stands. This enabled France, with the forts 
that it already had on the upper branches of the 
Mississippi, to hold all the land drained by the 
'' Father of Waters." In this way La Salle's great 
plan was carried out, and Spain was prevented from 
advancing farther to the north. 

3. THE ENGLISH IN AMERICA 

The English on the Atlantic coast. — Another 
people with whom we must get acquainted are the 
English. They came to the New World at about 
the same time as the French. But instead of hunt- 
ing for gold mines and jeweled cities, like the Span- 
iards, or for furs, like the French, they soberly set- 
tled down to farming. Their first colony was 
planted in Virginia and their next in Massa- 
chusetts. At first they took the land only when 
they needed it, and for that reason they spread 
slowly. They were a long time in getting to Texas, 
but when they came they took it, and what they 
took they kept. It is the descendants of these peo- 
ple who hold Texas to-day. 

Summary. — Through Columbus's dis,covery of 
America Spain gained the first claim to the New 
World, Then in order to hold it, the king estab- 
lished colonies in the West Indies, in Mexico, and in 
South America. Finally the Spaniards learned of 
Texas, and claimed that. The French came to 



SPAIN BEGINS TO OCCUPY TEXAS 



11 



America a hundred years later than the Spaniards, 
and settled far away in the north, but they spread 
rapidly. By accident they were the first to plant a 
colony in Texas, and this gave France a claim to 
the country; but the failure of the colony left it 
vacant again for Spain. At last the English came 
to America, and settled nearly as far from Texas 
as the Fren,ch. Because of their thorough method 
of using the land they spread slowly, but for that 
very reason they were able to hold what they took. 

QUESTIONS 

1. By what right did Spain claim America? What was 
necessary to make this claim good? 

2. What interest have we in Spain's conquest of Mexico ? 

3. By what right did Spain claim Texas? 

4. Why did the French spread so rapidly in America ? 

5. What motives influenced Louis XIV to authorize a 
settlement at the mouth of the Mississippi ? 

6. Point out on the map the location of La Salle's colony 
in Texas. What is the chief importance of this colony ? 

7. What is the importance for our subject of the French 
settlement of Louisiana? 

8. Point out the principal differences between the Spanish, 
the French, and the Enghsh methods of colonization. 

9. Why did the Enghsh spread slowly? 

ADDITIONAL BEADING 

Cabcza de Vaca : Bolton and Barker, With the Makers of 
Texas, 1-12 (American Book Company) ; Littlejohn, Texas 
History Stories, 1-22 (B. F. Johnson Publishing Company). 

La Salle: Bolton and Barker, 21-33; Littlejohn, 25-56; 
Davis, Under Six Flags, 1-8 (Ginn and Company). 



CHAPTER II 

SPAIN BEGINS TO OCCUPY TEXAS 

The king wants a short route to New Mexico. — 

After Coronado's failure to find the wonderful cities 
of New Mexico, the Spaniards continued to feel an 
interest in that country and finally took possession 
of it and founded its present capital, Santa Fe. But 
at best it was very far away from Spain, and to 
make matters worse travelers and merchants who 
had to go there from Spain or the West Indies could 
not go the nearest way. They had first to take ship 
to Vera Cruz, on the eastern coast of Mexico, and 
then make the tiresome journey up through Mexico 
and by El Paso. If you will study the map, you 
will see that it would have been much nearer for 
them to land at Matagorda, and travel through 
Texas. The king saw this, too, and ordered the 
viceroy of Mexico to establish a settlement on Mata- 
gorda Bay, which the Spaniards called the Bay of 
the Holy Spirit. But the viceroy know nothing of 
any such bay, and was busy with other important 
things, so that he simply neglected the king's 
command. 
The missionaries take the first step. — Next the 

12 



SPAIN BEGINS TO OCCUPY TEXAS 



13 



governor of New Mexico heard that the Indians of 
Texas were begging for some one to come and teach 
them the Christian religion. He immediately dis- 
patched an expedition under Captain Mendoza 
(Men-d5'sa) and Father Lopez (Lo'pas), which 
marched for several hundred miles through Texas 




and then returned without making a settlement. 
Both the captain and the priest, however, were 
greatly pleased with the country through which 
they had passed, and hastening to Mexico they 
urged the viceroy to take measures to possess it. 

The viceroy hears of La Salle's expedition. — At 
first the viceroy did not pay much attention to them, 
and in fact seemed to care very little about Texas. 



14 



A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 



But a little later he learned that La Salle had 
started from France in 1684, intending to establish 
a colony somewhere on the Gulf of Mexico. This 
put a different face upon the matter. Even if Spain 
had no use for Texas, it would never do to let 
France get it. Besides, another command came 
from the king about this time saying that he must 








iJSt. 



An Old Spanish I'ictuke 



find Matagorda Bay. So the viceroy ordered Cap- 
tain Alonso de Leon (La-on^ to march along the 
coast with a company of soldiers and drive away 
any Frenchmen that he might find. Though he did 
not know it, the French w^ere settled near the bay 
that the king was so anxious to have found. 

The search for the French. — Twice, in 1686 and 
again in 1687, Captain de Leon pushed far to the 
north, and returned to Mexico each time without 
hearing anything of the men whom he sought. He 
began to doubt whether they had ever reached the 



SPAIN BEGINS TO OCCUPY TEXAS 15 

country. But at tliis very time La Salle was desper- 
ately limiting for the Mississippi, and hope was 
slowly dying in the hearts of the homesick French- 
men at Fort Saint Louis. How glad they would have 
been to see De Leon, for through him they could 
have returned to their beloved France ! 

The finding of Fort Saint Louis. — Rumors of a 
French settlement next began to reach Mexico 
through the Indians. At last an old Frenchman 
who had deserted La Salle was brought to Captain 
de Leon. He wore no clothes, and was painted like 
the Indians, among whom he had been living. He 
told of the settlement near Lavaca Bay, and De 
Leon determined to find it. This time he was suc- 
cessful. Setting out toward the end of March, 1689, 
with eighty soldiers and a Franciscan priest,^ Father 
Massanet (Mas-sa-net'), and guided by an Indian 
who knew the way, he arrived at Fort Saint Louis 
on April 22. It was deserted, and a scene of devas- 
tation met his view. Less than three months before, 
the Indians had surprised the settlement and mur- 
dered every soul except four young .children and a 

^ The Franciscan brotherhood of priests was organized in 
the thirteenth century by little Saint Francis of Assisi (As- 
see-ze), in Italy, to preach to the poor and ignorant. They 
were very devout missionaries, and after the discovery of 
America devoted themselves unselfishly to teaching the In- 
dians of Mexico and the southwestern part of the present 
United States. 



16 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

boy of eighteen. Around the houses in every direc- 
tion the ground was covered with broken swords 
and guns, torn books, and pieces of boxes and bar- 
rels, which the Indians had broken up ; while out on 
the prairie lay the skeletons of two men and a 
woman. Captain de Leon's work was already done; 
the French settlement in Texas was destroyed. 

The Tejas Indians. — Captain de Leon learned that 
four Frenchmen who had left the fort before the 
massacre were living among a friendly tribe of 
Indians to the northeast, and he now went to get 
them. Only two of them would go back to Mexico 
with him; the others preferred to stay with the 
Indians. These Indians were the Tejas (Ta'has), 
and it is from them that the name of our state is 
derived. The head chief of the Tejas came to see 
Captain de Leon, and told him that his people would 
be glad to have some one preach the Gospel to them. 
This so delighted Father Massanet that he gave the 
chief two horses and his own blanket, and promised 
to come back to Texas the next year, build a church, 
and preach to the Tejas. The .chief then said good 
bye, and on the same day Captain de Leon set out 
on his return to Mexico. 

Father Massanet keeps his promise. — Just a year 
later Captain de Leon and Father Massanet found 
themselves again in Texas. This time they had 
with them a hundred and ten soldiers and three 
priests. They first went by La Salle's old fort and 



SPAIN BEGINS TO OCCUPY TEXAS 



17 



burned it, for fear that other Frenchmen might 
come and occupy it, and then marched on toward 
the Tejas Indians. The chief came to meet them, 
and after embracing Father Massanet and offering 
him snuff and a little parched corn, invited the Span- 
iards to his village. Father Massanet and the other 
priests were happy to learn that the Tejas were still 
anxious to be taught 
the Christian faith, and 
to show their apprecia- 
tion of the chief they 
gave him a suit of 
clothes. The next day 
the whole party solemn- 
ly marched into the vil- 
lage. These Tejas In- 
dians were partly civi- 
lized. They lived in 
comfortable houses, and 
cultivated small fields 
of corn, beans, and a kind of squash, besides tobacco. 
At a dinner which the chief gave the priests he 
served them with tamales, nuts, parched corn, and 
a dish of succotash. 

The first church in Texas is built. — The chief very 
politely asked the priests to make their home with 
him, but this they thought would be unwise. So, 
in a little while the soldiers began to cut dow^n 
trees and build a church and a log house for the 




A Missionary Father 



j[g A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

fathers. In three days the first churcli ever erected 
in Texas was completed, and Father Massanet cele- 
brated a joyful mass in it, while the soldiers outside 
fired salute after salute from their clumsy guns. 
The church was situated about twenty-five miles 
northeast of the present town of Crockett and a 
short distance west of the Neches River. The 
fathers .called it Mission San Francisco of the Tejas. 
This was a very long name for such a small church, 
but they gave it in honor of the founder of their 
brotherhood. Little Saint Fran,cis, and of the Indians 
among whom it was built. Three priests and three 
soldiers remained here, but Father Massanet and 
Captain de Leon with the rest of the soldiers 
returned to Mexico. 

The failure of the mission. — But the little chapel 
in this lonely wilderness did not last very long. A 
few Indians were baptized and tried to become 
Christians, but the next year the whole tribe became 
sick of a strange disease, and the medicine men said 
that it was caused by the priests. This turned the 
Indians against the missionaries, and put a stop to 
their good work. Father Massanet returned, and 
tried to regain the friendship of the Indians, but 
failed; and in less than four years after it was 
founded the church among the Tejas was sadly 
abandoned. 

The importance of the mission. — The important 
thing about the historv of this little church is that 



SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 19 

its failure helped teach the Spaniards how to suc- 
ceed the next time. Through their visits to it the 
country became familiar to them. They named the 
rivers, and learned the fords. Dim trails began to 
be trampled out, and good camping places were 
observed and .carefully marked on the map, later to 
become flourishing towns. Above all, the mission- 
aries learned to speak the Indian language. They 
learned also something of the character of the Indian 
and how to manage him. When they came again 
they brought larger numbers, more priests, with 
more soldiers to protect them and keep the Indians 
peaceful; and, most important of all, they brought 
families of men and women and little children to 
make homes in Texas. 

Summary. — Three things called the attention of 
the viceroy to Texas at about the same time. These 
were: (1) the king's command that a settlement 
be started at Matagorda Bay, (2) the desire of the 
missionaries to teach the Indians, and (3) the fear 
that the French were about to seize the country. 
While hunting for the French the Spaniards became 
acquainted with the friendly Tejas chief, and Father 
Massanet resolved to Christianize him and his peo- 
ple. The mission of San Francisco was founded the 
next year (1690) in East Texas. Its failure bitterly 
disappointed the missionaries, but from their experi- 
en,ce with it they were better able to succeed when 
they next attempted a settlement. 



20 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

QUESTIONS 

1. What causes turned the attention of the Spaniards 
toward Texas at the end of the 17th century? Which of 
these was the strongest? 

2. How many expeditions did Captain de Leon make in 
search of the French? 

3. While De Leon was looking for them, how were the 
French employed? 

4. What was the condition of the French settlement when 
De Leon found it ? To what do you mainly attribute the mis- 
fortunes of the French colony ? 

5. How did the Spaniards learn of the Tejas Indians? In 
what state of civilization were these Indians? 

6. What motives led the Spaniards to establish a mission 
among these Indians? 

7. Point out on the map the location of this mission. Why 
did it fail? What was its chief importance? 

ADDITIONAL EEADING 

The search for the French: Bolton and Barker, With the 
Makers of Texas, 34-42 ; Davis, Under Six Flags, 9-12. 

The founding of the First Texas Mission: Bolton and 
Barker, 43-49. 




A 4 /f 



CHAPTER III 

SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION OF TEXAS 

1. HOW THE FRENCH IN LOUISIANA CAUSED THE 
SPANISH TO SETTLE TEXAS 

Twenty years of neglect. — When the missionaries 
left East Texas in 1694 they hoped that they could 
soon return and establish a permanent settlement, 
for they believed that in that way they could regain 
the friendship of the Indians and teach them the 
Gospel. They had learned, tiiough, that there could 
never be a permanent settlement until married men 
brought their wives and children and made their 
homes in the country. They also knew that until 
the Indians became friendly again soldiers would be 
needed for protection. Only the viceroy of Mexico, 
however, or the king, his master, had the power to 
establish a settlement of this sort, and time after 
time they begged the viceroy to do it, but he always 
refused. He knew^ that it would be very expensive, 
because in addition to paying the wages of the sol- 
diers he would also have to furnish the food and 
clothing of the settlers until they could raise a crop 
and support themselves. If there had been a gold 
mine in Texas, he would have sent men quickly 

21 



32 A SCHOOL HISTOKY OF TEXAS 

enough to make the Indians work it for the king; 
but he did not want to spend the king's money with- 
out getting something in return. There was no mine, 
and it did not seem to him worth while to spend 
very much in making the Indians Christians. For 
this reason Texas remained neglected by the Span- 
iards for more than twenty years. 

The French in Louisiana. — We must now learn 
how the viceroy was made to change his mind. 

There was one thing be- 
sides a gold mine that 
\ ^1^ could make him take an 

interest in Texas, and that 
was the fear that his 
country might lose it. 
When the missionaries 





first left Texas there 
INDIAN AuKow HEADS secmed to be no danger 

of this, because no other 
nation was near it. A few years later, however, the 
French began to settle in the southeastern part of 
that enormous territory which La Salle had named 
Louisiana. This gave the viceroy some uneasiness, 
because, as you can see if you will look at the map, 
Louisiana was joined on the west by Texas, and he 
feared that the French might try to cross the bound- 
ary and take it. Still, they were very far away at 
first, and he took no steps to guard against them. 
The French wish to trade in Texas. — But vou have 



SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 23 

already learned liow rapidly French hunters and 
traders could spread over a new country, and you 
will easily understand that the vi,ceroy was not left 
long in peace. In fact, Father Hidalgo (E-dal'go), 
one of those very missionaries who had so often 
begged the viceroy to establish a colony in East 
Texas in order that he might teach the Indians, now 
appealed to the governor of Louisiana for help in 
founding a mission. To arouse his interest, he told 
the governor that the Indians there were well-to-do, 
and that a profitable trade could be carried on with 
them. He also hinted that the Spaniards of north- 
ern Mexico, although it was strictly against the laws 
of Spain, might welcome trade with the French. As 
it happened that this was exactly what the governor 
of Louisiana wanted to do, he did not lose a moment 
in taking advantage of Father Hidalgo 's invitation. 
Saint-Denis appointed to open trade with Texas. 
— In all Louisiana the man best fitted to w^in the con- 
fidence of the Indians and persuade the Spaniards to 
break the law was a smooth-tongued captain named 
Saint-Denis^ (San Den-ee')- He was now thirty- 
eight years of age, and much of his life had been 
spent among various tribes of Indians, whose nature 
he thoroughly understood and whom he had learned 
to manage with great skill. Moreover he was well 

^ His full name was Louis Juchereau de Saint-Denis. He 
was born in Quebec in 1676. The time and place of his death 
are not known. He was still livino- in 1744. 



24 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



acquainted with the Spanisli character, and spoke 
the Spanish language. This was the man that the 
governor appointed to open ,commerce with Texas. 
The governor ordered him first to establish trade 
with the Indians, and then to find Father Hidalgo 
and get his opinion upon the best way of dealing 
with Mexico. 

Saint-Denis among 
the Hasinai Indians. 
— Saint - Denis car- 
ried out the first part 
of his instructions to 
the letter. With two 
dozen Frenchmen, a 
number of Indians, 
and five canoes full 
of goods he paddled 
up the Mississippi to 
the mouth of the Red 
River and then up the Red to the present town of 
Natchitoches (Nack'e-tosh). There he built store- 
houses for his goods, and, leaving some of his men to 
guard them, crossed the Sabine River and marched 
into the country of the Hasinai (Ha-see'ny) Indians. 
These Indians were kin to the Tejas, among whom 
the Spaniards had established their first mission, 
and for years they had been missing and longing for 
the presents that it was the custom of the Spaniards 
to give. When Saint-Denis arrived, therefore, they 




Indian Basket Maker 



SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 25 

greeted him with joy, hoping that he, too, would dis- 
tribute gifts. He did not disappoint them. But after 
pleasure came business, and for six months he 
remained there buying horses and cattle and buffalo 
skins and paying for them with guns and knives and 
axes and cheap little trinkets such as beads and mir- 
rors and gayly colored cloths. 

Saint-Denis goes to Mexico. — When Saint-Denis 
turned to the second part of his instructions, that is, 
the establishment of trade with Mexico, he could not 
find Father Hidalgo to get his advice. Nevertheless, 
he decided to go boldly to the nearest Spanish offi- 
cial and propose the opening of commerce between 
, Mexico and Louisiana. It happened at this time 
that the king of Spain was the grandson of Louis 
XIV, the great king of France, and at home the two 
countries were on very friendly terms. For this rea- 
son Saint-Denis believed that the Spaniards would 
jump at his proposal. However, when he presented 
himself in the early part of 1715 to Captain Diego 
Ramon (De-a'go Ra-mon'), who commanded the fort 
of San Juan (San Whaun'), near the present tow^n of 
Eagle Pass, he found that he was mistaken. For 
Captain Ramon, instead of trading, made a prisoner 
of him and then sent a messenger to the viceroy to 
ask what to do with him. 

Saint-Denis goes to see the viceroy. — When the 
messenger returned he brought a command for Saint- 
Denis to proceed to the City of Mexico to see the 
viceroy, and this he accordingly did. When the 



36 A SCHOOL HISTOKY OF TEXAS 

viceroy asked Mm why he had entered Spanish 
territory he replied that his governor had sent him 
to buy horses and to deliver a message to Father 
Hidalgo, but concerning the plan of establishing 
trade between Louisiana and northern Mexico he 
said very little. On the contrary, he told the viceroy 
how anxious the Tejas Indians were for the Span- 
iards to come back to them, and urged him to re-es- 
tablish the missions in East Texas. The viceroy had 
already half decided to do this, because he thought 
it the surest way to keep Frenchmen out of Texas. 
Saint-Denis must have secretly chuckled at the idea, 
for he knew perfectly well that if the Spaniards once 
settled in East Texas, the trading would take care 
of itself. 

The importance of Saint-Denis's journey. — The 
viceroy was much disturbed by Saint-Denis's 
account of his long march across Texas wdtli not a 
Spaniard to dispute his way, because it made him 
see how easy it would be for the French to seize the 
whole province. To remove all future danger of 
this, he resolved to take the step which the mis- 
sionaries had so long been urging, and which Saint- 
Denis had recently advised; that is, to make a set- 
tlement in East Texas. The most important thing to 
remember about the journey of Saint-Denis is that it 
brought the viceroy to this decision, because the 
colonies which he now sent out form the real begin- 
ning of the continuous history of Texas. 



SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 27 

2. THE SPANISH SETTLEMENT OF TEXAS 

Preparation for a colony. — Having made up his 
mind, the viceroy hurried on the preparations for tlije 
settlement. Presents for the Indians had to be 
thought of and arrangements made with the priests 
to send missionaries; men and women had to be 
found who were willing to go into the distant wilder- 
ness, and supplies must be collected for the support 
of the party while on the march and after they 
arrived. After much bustle and confusion all was 
ready and a little band set out, commanded by Cap- 
tain Domingo Ramon. There were half a dozen 
priests, some soldiers and young men, and seven 
married men with their families. They carried with 
them plows and hoes and axes and nearly a thousand 
head of cattle and goats. This time the Spaniards 
were going to stay. 

The old San Antonio Road. — On account of his 
knowledge of the country, Saint-Denis was 
appointed by the viceroy to guide the expedition. 
Although we cannot trace his exact steps, it is not 
unlikely that the march lay near the route that later 
came to be called the Old San Antonio Road. Start- 
ing from the fort on the Rio Grande near the pres- 
ent town of Eagle Pass, this old road extended across 
Texas to modern Nacogdoches. For many years it 
was the principal highway between Texas and 
Mexico, and it became a noted landmark. In our day 
the important towns of San Antonio, Bastrop, and 



28 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



Crockett are to be found along its route. It was 
the spring of the year, and the members of Captain 
Ramon's party were charmed with the country. The 
clear skies, the green plains covered with wild flow- 
ers and game, the sparkling rivers alive with fish all 
combined to convince them that they had entered a 
paradise of beauty and abundance. 




Saa Juaii Bautista 



The Old San Antonio Road 

The Tejas welcome the return of the Spaniards. — 
The friendly Indians helped to confirm the good 
opinion w^iich the Spaniards had already formed of 
the land. When they drew near East Texas Saint- 
Denis went on ahead to tell the Tejas that the}^ were 
coming, and many of the Indians rode out to meet 
them. The pipe of peace was smoked, speeches were 
made, and then Captain Ramon distributed some of 



SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 



29 



the presents that he had brought. No doubt the 
Indians really were, at the moment, glad to have 
the Spaniards back, but it is likely that they were 
sometimes more polite than truthful in telling the 
Spaniards how well they liked them. For example, 
an eloquent old chief once told the 
Marquis de Aguayo (Mar'kwis da 
A-gwa'yo) that the four things which 
he loved best in the world were God, 
the sun, the moon, and the Spaniards. 

The establishment of the missions. 
— It was now the summer of 1716. 
Before the year closed the Spaniards, 
assisted by the Indians, had built four 
missions.^ One of them, the mission 
of Guadalupe (Gwa-da-loop'y) stood 
exa,ctly where Nacogdoches now is, 
and the others were from fifteen to 
twenty-five miles west and northwest 
of it. In the spring of the next year 
two others were built near where San 
Augustine is now located.- With each 
mission were left a priest or two, a few soldiers, 
and some of the colonists. These little settlements 

^ They were San Francisco of the Neches, the Immaculate 
Conception, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and San Joseph of the 
Nazones (Na-so'nas). These names may be shortened to San 
Francisco, Conception, Guadalupe, and San Joseph. 

-They were San Miguel (San Me-gel) and Dolores (Do- 
lo'ras). 




Peace Pipe 



30 A SCHOOL HTSTOEY OF TEXAS 

were too weak, of course, to drive the French back 
if they tried to come in, but they served as a sort of 
sign-board that Texas belonged to the Spanish and 
that other nations must keep out. Besides, they 
could watch the French in Louisiana and warn the 
viceroy if any threat were made against them. The 
missionaries were delighted, and about a year after 
they began their work wrote gleefully that they had 
baptized a hundred Indians. 

Why San Antonio was founded. — But there were 
many dangers surrounding these early colonists. 
They were five hundred miles from the nearest 
Spanish settlement in Mexico; around them were 
five thousand Indians who might at any moment 
become unfriendly, as they had been after the first 
missions were established; and at their very doors 
were the French, who might come any day and drive 
them away. Captain Ramon and the good fathers 
felt very uneasy and begged the viceroy to send them 
reinforcements. At the same time Father Olivares 
(0-le-va'ras), who was anxious to go to Texas but 
who had been left out of Ramon's party, was plead- 
ing with the viceroy to let him establish a mission 
in another part of the province. In addition to all 
this, the viceroy now began to fear that the French 
might come by sea and take possession of the region 
which La Salle had occupied thirty years before. 
The best way to prevent this was for the Spaniards 
to go there first. So for these three reasons the vice- 



SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 



31 



roy decided to make another settlement in Texas: 
(1) he wanted to reinforce the East Texas settle- 
ments, (2) he wanted to satisfy the prayers of 
Father Olivares for a new mission, and, above all, 
(3) he wanted to get ahead of the French on Lavaca 
Bay. 

The Founding of San Antonio. — The viceroy 
expected this settlement to be located near the coast, 




Entrance to the Axamo 



but it was established near the head of the San 
Antonio River. First the mission was built and 
named San Antonio de Valero (Va-la'ro). The 
building that we now know as the Alamo is believed 
to have been a part of it. Next, and across the river, 
a fort was built for the soldiers. This was named 
San Antonio de Bexar (Ba'har). Later a town grew 



32 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

up around the mission and the fort, and this was 
called San Fernando de Bexar. This was the begin- 
ning, nearly two hundred years ago, of the charm- 
ing city that we to-day call San Antonio. You will 
notice that its old name has not been entirely for- 
gotten, for it is still in Bexar county, and it has an 
interesting old church that is called the cathedral of 
San Fernando. 

The importance of San Antonio. — San Antonio 
grew very slowly and it was very poor. One old 
Spanish historian complains that after seventy years 
it had but a hundred and forty houses and that all 
of them were one-storied and most of them one- 
roomed. But we ,care nothing for that. The impor- 
tant thing is that it was a permanent settlement, and 
that from the day of its foundation there was always 
one place in Texas to which, in case of need, civilized 
men could fly for protection. Besides this, it became 
the headquarters from which settlers went out to 
other parts of Texas. 

The missions near San Antonio. — Soon four other 
missions were founded near San Antonio. The first 
was San Jose (Ho-sa'), begun in 1720, and the oth- 
ers were Concepcion (Kon-sep-se-6n'), San Juan 
(San Whaun'), and San Francisco.^ The missions in 
East Texas were built of logs and soon decayed, so 

^ The last three missions named above had first been "estab- 
lished in East Texas, but in 1732 their priests abandoned 
that region and, falling back to San Antonio, founded new 



SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 



33 



that to-day no trace of them remains; but around 
San Antonio they were built of stone, and though 
they are nearly two hundred years old, portions of 
them are still in good condi- 
tion. San Jose was beauti- 
fully decorated with carving 
and sculpture. In the next 
section we shall learn some- 
thing about the life that 
went on around these inter- 
esting old buildings. 

Other Spanish settlements. 
— During the next seventy- 
five years the Spaniards es- 
tablished many other mis- 
sions and settlements in 
Texas, but some they were 
forced to abandon and 
others the Indians de- 
stroyed. Every time they 
tried to settle north of the 
Old San Antonio Eoad the 
Apaches drove them back, 
and the fierce Karankawa (Ka-rank'a-way) war- 
riors kept them away from the coast. So, at the 




Caeved Doorway,^ Mission 
San Jose 



missions. They brought with them the records of the older 
missions, and we say, therefore, that Concepcion, San Juan, 
and San Francisco were removed from East Texas, 



34 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

beginning of the nineteenth century there were only 
three Spanish towns in Texas worth mentioning. 
These were San Antonio, La Baliia (La Bii-he'a), or 
as we call it Goliad, and Nacogdoches. 

3. UFE IN THE SPANISH SETTLEMENTS 

The three parts of a Spanish settlement. — We 

must now try to picture to ourselves the daily life 
of the people in these early Spanish settlements. 
You have already noticed, that a settlement was 
always composed of a priest or two, some soldiers, 
and a few families. The aim of the priests was to 
teach and Christianize the Indians. The place where 
they and their Indian converts lived was called a 
mission. The duty of the soldiers was to protect the 
mission and the settlers, though they sometimes did 
a mission more harm than good. They lived in the 
fort, or as the Spaniards called it, the presidio (pra- 
se'de-o). Finally there was the village, which grew 
up around the mission and the fort and in which 
lived the settlers and the families of the married 
soldiers. 

Description of a mission. — If you could have 
visited one of the missions near San Antonio a cen- 
tury and a half ago your attention would first have 
been attracted by the fine church. Connected with 
this in the rear were the living rooms of the priests. 
And then, off to one side, enclosed by a high wall, 
you would have seen rows of little stone houses in 



SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 



35 



which the Indians lived. These were built close 
together, and at night the priests locked them up to 
keep the Indians from running away. They were 
furnished with beds and chests, and in the kitchens 
were a few pots, bowls, and kettles for cooking. On 




Mission San Jose 

all sides of the chur.ch stretched small irrigated 
farms upon which the Indians, under the direction of 
the priests, cultivated crops of corn, beans, pump- 
kins, watermelons, and sugar ,cane. Further away 
were the pastures where grazed herds of horses, 
mules, and cattle, and flocks of sheep and goats. 

How the missionaries taught the Indians. — The 
missionaries would first win the friendship of the 
Indians by giving them presents, and then persuade 



36 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

them to live at the mission by promising them more 
presents. After getting them to the mission the 
fathers would begin to instruct them in religion. 
Every morning and every evening, with the old peo- 
ple in one class and the children in another, they 
were taught the cate.chism; and three or four times a 
week a service was held in the church. Many of the 
Indians allowed themselves to be baptized, but very 
few were intelligent enough to understand what 
Christianity really means. However, the fathers 
never lost the hope that they might learn, and in 
order to keep them in a good humor distributed fre- 
quent gifts. Every Sunday four or five beeves were 
killed for the Indians, mutton was sent to the sick, 
and now and then all were made happy by a little 
gift of sugar, of which they were extremely fond. 

How the Indians worked. — As a part of their 
training the Indians were compelled to work, for the 
fathers -well knew how easy it is for idle hands to 
get into mischief. While some of the men were put 
to herding cattle and attending to the ranches, oth- 
ers were taught farming, carpentering, blacksmith- 
ing, and masonry. The women learned to weave 
cotton and wool and to make coarse cloth, blankets, 
and shawls. But the men were so lazy that the 
fathers complained that it took four of them to do 
as much work as one Spaniard. To get out of work- 
ing, the Indians often pretended to be ill, and 
though the fathers easily saw through their pre- 



SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 37 

tenses they acted as if they were deceived, in order 
to keep the Indians from running away. 

The soldiers. — The life of the soldiers will not 
detain us long. They lived in the fort and in little 
houses near by, and most of them were men of very 
bad character. The government paid them high 
wages to protect the missions and the settlers, but 
they caused the good fathers a world of trouble by 
abusing and mistreating the Indians of the mission. 
They occasionally fought a battle with the Apaches 
or the Coman,ches, but, for the most part, they were 
so stupid and cowardly that the hostile Indians had 
little respect for them. In fact, it is said that the 
Indians held the soldiers in such contempt that 
they would sometimes sneak into town at night and 
steal all the horses, and then take them back the 
nfext day and compel the owners to pay them a 
reward for returning them. 

The settlers. — The early Spanish settlers were 
mostly poor and ignorant. Very few of them could 
read and write, and they did not have much ambition 
to learn. They did a little farming and a little stock 
raising, and hunted wild cattle and game. In the 
east they lived in terror of the French, and elsewhere 
they were exposed to the attacks of hostile Indians. 
Even in San Antonio they suffered from the raids 
of Apaches and Comanches. They lived in wretched 
one-roomed hovels, and for the most part did not 
care to improve their condition. Do you wonder that 



38 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



they did not prosper! Toward the end of the eight- 
eenth century a promise was given of better things 
in San Antonio, when Don Fran,cisco de la Mata 
(da-la-ma'ta) established a private school in which 
to give the children simple instruction. This was 
the first school ever established in Texas. We do 

not know the exact 
date, but it was sev- 
eral years before 1789, 
when Washington be- 
came President of the 
United States. But the 
school did not succeed, 
and the promise of im- 
provement which it of- 
fered was not fulfilled. 
The settlement as a 
whole. — Can you not 
close your eyes for a 
moment and imagine 
that you see this old 
San Antonio as it was 
a hundred and fifty years ago, before the coming of 
the Americans! There is the mission with its busy, 
hopeful priests trying to teach the gospel of religion 
and work to the unwilling Indians who only consent 
to listen for the sake of a little gift. Here is the fort 
with its evil, quarrelsome soldiers, living at the 
king's expense, and hindering the efforts of the mis- 




Spanish Ikrigation Ditch^ San 
Antonio 



SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 39 

sionaries to uplift the Indians. And clustered around 
the military plaza is the village with its idle, shift- 
less settlers, ignorant and wretched but contented. 

4. TROUBLE WITH THE FRENCH 

The threatening situation in East Texas. — You 

remember that when Saint-Denis was on his way to 
Mexico in 1714 he stored his goods at Natchitoches 
and left some of his men to guard them. During his 
absence in Mexico these men built a fort on the west 
bank of Red River. Then Saint-Denis led the Span- 
iards to East Texas, and they established their mis- 
sions and settlements around Nacogdoches and St. 
Augustine. One of the missions, called San Miguel 
(San Me-gel'), or Adaes (a-dy'as), was established 
on the east bank of the Sabine, only about thirty 
miles from the French fort at Natchitoches. This 
created a dangerous situation, because the two peo- 
ples were now close enough together to strike each 
other. For three years, however, all went well. 
These Frenchmen did not want to take Texas; they 
merely wanted to trade in it, and to this the Span- 
iards on the frontier did not seriously object. 

The French drive the Spaniards from East Texas. 
— But in 1719, while Fran,ce and Spain were warring 
with each other at home, the French advanced from 
Natchitoches upon the East Texas settlements, and 
the Spaniards fled to San Antonio. The Frenchmen 
then plundered the missions and the settlements, and 
what they spared the Indians destroyed. It was for- 



40 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

tunate that the Spaniards had San Antonio to retire 
to, otherwise they might have been driven entirely 
out of Texas. 

The French attempt to settle on the coast. — A 
short time after this the French resolved to estab- 
lish a colony on the coast of Texas, near where 
La Salle had landed. But the men sent there did 
not stay very long. They said that the Indians were 
too hostile, but the truth of the matter is that France 
did not care to take Texas. 

Spain re-occupies East Texas and founds a settle- 
ment on the coast. — As soon as the viceroy of 
Mexico heard of the flight of his people from East 
Texas he sent a brave officer with five hundred sol- 
diers to restore them. This officer was the Marquis 
de Aguayo (A-gwa'yo). By this time, however, 
France and Spain had made peace at home, and the 
French had returned to Natchitoches, so that 
Aguayo had no trouble. He re-established the mis- 
sions and settlements and built a strong fort near 
Natchitoches, in which he left a hundred soldiers to 
watch the French. He then went down to the coast, 
and in what is now Jackson county built a fort, on 
the spot where La Salle's settlement had been. The 
object of this was, of course, to prevent the French 
from making another settlement in that region as 
'they had just tried to do. But tliQ^ Spaniards, too, 
found the fierce Karankawa braves too much for 
them, and the settlement soon had to be moved. 



SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 41 

Finally, in 1749, it was moved a second time and 
established on tlie site of modern Goliad. This is the 
beginning of Goliad. 

Other relations with the French. — After this the 
Spaniards had very little trouble with the French. 
Their greatest difficulty was in trying to prevent 
them from smuggling goods into Texas to trade with 
the Indians. They objected to this because they 
w^anted to enjoy the profits of the trade themselves. 
But they could never succeed in keeping the French 
out. The Indians always liked the French better 
than they did the Spaniards, and an old missionary 
tells us the reason why. He says that while the 
Spanish soldiers annoy and abuse the Indians, "the 
Frenchman will take off his shirt to give to them," 
in order to keep them friendly. 

The end of trouble with the French. — In 1762 all 
trouble with the French came to an end, because at 
that date the king of France gave Spain all of the 
province of Louisiana which lay west of the Mis- 
sissippi River. The forts in East Texas were now 
no longer needed, and in 1773 the soldiers were 
moved to San Antonio and the settlers were ordered 
to go with them. 

Founding of Nacogdoches. — This order to move 
came at the end of June, and caused the settlers 
great distress. Many of them had been born in East 
Texas, and, having never known any other home, 
they loved it. All of them owned some property 



42 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

there which they must now abandon. Even the 
crops would have to be left growing in the fields. 
But there was no way of evading the will of the 
government, and they sadly set out for San Antonio. 
Some grew ill and were allowed to drop out on the 
way, a few died, and those who reached San Antonio, 
after a journey of three months, were in a pitiful 
condition of poverty and exhaustion. Lands were 
given them near San Antonio, but they never 
learned to feel at home, because they longed for the 
land of the Tejas. Finally the most important man 
among them, Gil Ybarbo (Heel E-bar'bo), went to 
the City of Mexico and persuaded the viceroy to let 
them return as far as the Trinity Eiver. But this 
proved unsatisfactory, too ; the Indians were trouble- 
some, and the river overflowed year after year and 
destroyed their crops. , They determined to move 
again, and this time, without asking permission, 
Ybarbo led them to the spot where the mission of 
Guadalupe had been founded in 1716 and estab- 
lished a settlement. This was the beginning of 
Nacogdoches in 1779. 

The importance of Nacogdoches. — It turned out to 
be a very fortunate thing for Spain that Ybarbo 
re-established a settlement in East Texas, because, 
as we shall see in the next chapter, Spain lost Louis- 
iana about twenty years after this, and then it again 
needed a signboard on the frontier. Nacogdoches 
served this purpose. 



SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 43 

Summary. — We have now learned how the Span- 
iards took possession of Texas. The viceroy paid no 
attention to the pleading of the missionaries for 
strong settlements in East Texas, but Saint-Denis's 
march showed him how easy it would be for the 
French in Louisiana to take the country, and to pre- 
vent this he determined to found the settlements for 
which the missionaries had been begging for twenty 
years. The settlements were established in 1716 

around the present 
towns of Nacogdo- 
ches and San Augus- 
tine. Two years later 
San Antonio was 
founded. For the 
most part the French 
AN INDIAN srooN ^ii(j tlio Spaulsh got 

along well together on the frontier, but in 1719 
while France and Spain were at war in Europe 
the Spaniards were driven back to San Antonio, 
and shortly afterwards some Frenchmen tried to 
found a colony on Matagorda Bay. This failed, 
however, and in 1721 the Marquis de Aguayo 
restored the East Texas settlements, and founded a 
new one near the coast, on the spot where La Salle's 
fort had stood. After moving twice this settlement 
was finally located at Goliad in 1749. In 1762 
France gave western Louisiana to Spain, and since 
the settlements in East Texas were then no longer 




44 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



needed to maintain Spain's claim, the government 
broke them up and moved the inhabitants to San 
Antonio. But the settlers loved their old homes, 
and in 1779 Gil Ybarbo led them back, and they 
founded Nacogdoches. This happened to be a for- 
tunate thing for Spain, because it soon lost Louis- 




INDIAN POTTEKY 

iana and an outpost was again needed on the fron- 
tier. At the end of the eighteenth-century the only 
settlements worth mentioning were San Antonio, 
Goliad, and Nacogdoches, and they were not in a 
prosperous condition. 



QUESTIONS 

1. When did the first missionaries leave East Texas? 

2. What sort of a settlement did they want to return and 
make ? 

3. Why did the viceroy at first refuse to establish a settle- 
ment ? Do you think that he Avas right in this refusal ? Wliy 
did he finally change his mind? 



SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION . 45 

4. Who was Father Hidalgo? Why did he wish the 
French to come to Texas? 

5. AVhat qualifications had Saint-Denis for the task of 
establishing trade with Texas? 

6. Give an account of his trading among the Hasinai 
Indians. Why was he arrested in ]\Iexico ? 

7. What is the chief importance of Saint-Denis in the 
history of Texas? 

8. Describe the preparations that the Spaniards made fur 
their settlement. What were some of the things that they 
took with them ? By what route did they go ? 

9. Draw the Old San Antonio Road? Wliat towns are 
now on or near it? 

10. Why were the Indians so glad to have the Spaniards 
return ? 

11. Draw on the map a circle enclosing the missions and 
settlements established in East Texas. 

12. What modern town grew up on the site of one of these 
missions ? 

13. What purpose did these settlements serve in keeping 
back the French ? 

1-4. What were the main causes that led to the founding of 
San Antonio? Of what importance was this settlement? 

15. Mention some other Spanish settlements in Texas. 

16. Describe the daily life in a large mission. 

17. Describe the life of the settlers. What was the char- 
acter of the soldiers? Why were they not sent back to 
Mexico ? 

18. Trace the successive abandonments and reoccupations 
of East Texas. What caused the last abandonment? 

19. Trace the events leading to the establishment of 
Goliad; of Nacogdoches. 

20. What is the chief importance of the establishment of 
Nacogdoches ? 



46 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 
ADDITIONAL READING 



Saint-Denis: Bolton and Barker, Wiih ihc Mal'ers of 
Texas, 50-53 ; Davis, Under Six Flags, 14-16. 

The Spanish Settlements in East Texas. Bolton and Barker, 
54-61; Davis, 16-23. 

Mission Life: Bolton and Barker, 61-66; Garrison, Texas, 
56-60. 




CHAPTER IV 

THE AMERICANS BECOME ACQUAINTED WITH TEXAS 

1. SPAIN GETS A NEW NEIGHBOR, THE UNITED STATES 

Growth of the English settlements in America. — 

If you will go back to the first Chapter you will 
see how the English people settled in America 
very far from Texas, and spread so slowly tliat at 
the end of a hundred and hfty years they held only 
a narrow strip of land along the Atlantic Ocean from 
Maine to Georgia. But they spread rapidly enough 
when once they got started, and we must now learn 
how they did it. In 1756 England and France 
declared war against each other in Europe, and their 
colonists took up the quarrel in all parts of the 
world. In America the war was called the French 
and Indian War, because the English had to fight 
both the French and their Indian friends. George 
Washington was a colonel in this war and gained a 
reputation as a wise and skillful officer. In 1763, 
after seven years of fighting, the English won, and 
France gave England Canada and all of the terri- 
tory between the Mississippi River and the Appala- 
chian Mountains. You remember that just the year 
before France had given Spain all of its territory 

47 



48 



A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 



west of the Mississippi, so that England and Spain 
were now neighbors with the Mississippi as the 
boundary between them. 

The English settlements become the United States 
of America. — About this time the English colonists 
began to feel that they were being mistreated by 




English and Spanish Possessions, 1763 
(Note that the English have advanced westvv^ard to the Mississippi River.) 

King George of England, and on the Fourth of July, 
1776, all except those in Canada declared their inde- 
pendence and established the United States of 
America. Of course the king did not want to let 
them go, and the colonists had to fight a long and 
cruel war, but in the end they were successful. From 
this time on they are called Americans. The terri- 
tory of the new nation extended from the Atlantic 



AMEEICANS LEAEN OF TEXAS 49 

Ocean on the east to the Mississippi on the west, and 
from Canada on the north almost to the Gulf of 
Mexico on the south. Spain held what is now the 
state of Florida; a narrow strip along the Gulf, 
extending across the present states of Alabama and 
Mississippi; and all the land between the Mississippi 
Eiver and the Rocky Mountains. It is important for 
us to remember that on two sides the Spaniards had 
the Americans for neighbors, because it was in this 
way that they came to know and fear them. 

The United States buys the Louisiana Territory. — 
But the Americans were still a long way from Texas, 
and we must find out how they came nearer. It 
was in this way: after a while France took back 
the territory between the Mississippi and the 
Rockies w^iich it had given to Spain, and in 1803 
sold it to the United States for fifteen million dol- 
lars. This brought the Americans to the very fron- 
tier of Texas. 

The boundary between the United States and 
Texas.^Indeed, there were some Americans who 
claimed that all of Texas was in,cluded in the ter- 
ritory which the United States purchased from 
France. Others believed that the Sabine River was 
the boundary between American and Spanish terri- 
tory. This brought about a difhculty, because Spain 
claimicd that the Arroyo Hondo was the boundary, 
and this creek was some miles east of the Sabine. 
The dispute over the land between the Arroyo Hondo 



50 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



and the Sabine was arranged in a peculiar way in 
1806. It was agreed that until the matter could be 
permanently settled neither Spain nor the United 
States should exercise any authority there. The 
effect of this was to create a little No Man's Land 
between the Hondo and the Sabine. 




English and Spanish Tossessioxs, 1803 
(Note that rlie English have advanced to the border of Texas.) 

The Neutral Ground. — This was called the Neu- 
tral Ground. It had no laws and no government, 
and for that reason was a safe place for crimi- 
nals to gather. It was soon filled with despera- 
does of the worst kind, who robbed and mur- 
dered without fear of punishment. But the United 
States and Spain put an end to this condition of 
aifairs in 1819 by agreeing upon the present boun- 



AMERICANS LEARN OF TEXAS 51 

dary between Louisiana and Texas. Long before 
this agreement, however, adventurous Americans 
had been pushing a,cross the Neutral Ground into 
Texas and causing the Spaniards a great deal of 
annoyance. An account of their movements must 
be given in the section which follows. 

2. AMERICANS BEGIN TO INVADE TEXAS 

Nolan's expedition. — One of the earliest Ameri- 
cans to come to Texas was Philip Nolan. For many 
years he made occasional trips to San Antonio for 
trading purposes, but our interest in him begins in 
1800. In that year he led a small band of men to a 
spot near where the city of Waco now is and built 
a cabin. We are not sure Avhat his object was. One 
of the men said later that Nolan told him that the 
plan was to explore the country thoroughly, and then 
go to Kentucky and enlist enough men to come back 
and conquer it. But it is quite probable that he 
merely wanted to capture wdld horses and to trade 
with the Mexicans. 

The death of Philip Nolan. — When the Spaniards 
learned that Nolan was in Texas, Lieutenant Mus- 
quiz (Mus-kees') went out with a hundred soldiers 
to arrest him. Discovering Nolan's cabin at day- 
break on March 21, 1801, Musquiz divided his force 
into three divisions in order to surround it, and 
advanced. When he got within about thirty yards 
Nolan stepped out and shouted to him that if he 



53 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



came any nearer one or the other of them would be 
killed. Musquiz ordered him to surrender, but he 
refused and re-entered the cabin. Firing then began, 
and in about ten minutes Nolan was killed by a bul- 
let through the head. The Americans fought on 
until about nine o 'clock, and then, with their leader 
dead, three men wounded, and their ammunition 
nearly gone, they surrendered. They could do noth- 
ing else. Lieutenant Musquiz allowed Nolan's two 

negro boys to 
bury their master, 
and the next day 
started for Nacog- 
doches with the 
prisoners. 

The fate of 
Nolan's men. — 
The Americans 
thought that when 
they reached 
Nacogdoches they would be released and sent back 
to the United States, but they were disappointed. 
On the contrary, an order came for them to be 
sent to Mexico for trial. A weary time of wait- 
ing now began, for the king of Spain had to be 
informed of their case and say how they should 
be punished. Six years after they were cap- 
tured the king's decision came. It said that one in 
every five of the men must be hanged. Since by 





\/ 




'f\ 


^^^^ 





Ax Old Staxisii Stur 



AMEEICANS LEARN OF TEXAS 53 

this time there were but nine of them left, the kind- 
hearted judge who executed the king's decree 
declared that only one should die. But which one 
should it be? To settle this question the men were 
told to throw dice, and the one who made the lowest 
throw was hanged. But the others were still not 
released, and for years they were kept moving 
around from one prison to another until we finally 
lose sight of all ex,cept one of them. 

Ellis Bean. — This one was Peter Ellis Bean. In 
the next Chapter we shall learn that the Spaniards 
in Mexico revolted from Spain in 1810, and after a 
war of eleven years gained their independence. 
During the war Bean escaped from prison, joined 
the rebels, and fouglit faithfully for Mexico. He 
was eventually promoted to be a colonel in the Mexi- 
can army, and after the close of the war was for a 
long time a military officer at Nacogdoches. While 
in Mexico he had married a wealthy Mexican lady, 
and just before the Texas revolution he returned to 
Mexico, where he died in 1846. 

The importance of Nolan's expedition. — We are 
not positive what the object of Nolan's expedition 
was, and, whatever it may have been, it failed. The 
only importance that it has for us, therefore, is that 
it proves that Americans were now beginning to 
take an interest in Texas. 

The Gutierrez and Magee expedition. — Eleven 
years after Nolan's death another band of Ameri- 



54 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

cans invaded Texas. Mexico was then in the midst 
of its revolution against Spain, and the Americans 
declared that they wanted to free Texas and then 
help Mexico free herself. But this was only half 
of the truth ; the whole truth is that they wanted to 
free Texas* and keep it for themselves. The active 
commander of these men was Augustus Magee, a 
young lieutenant who had just resigned from the 
United States army, but the expedition was planned 
by Bernardo Gutierrez (Ber-nar'do Goo-te-ar'ras), 
a Mexican, and he was elected general, while Magee 
held the office of colonel. 

The early success of the expedition. — The men 
gathered in the Neutral Ground, where no one had 
the power to interfere with them, and when all was 
ready marched first on Nacogdoches. The Spanish 
troops fled without firing a shot, and left the town 
in the hands of the Americans. This occurred in 
August of 1812. Gutierrez tried to win the help of 
the inhabitants of Texas by exciting them against 
the Spanish officials. Some of the people joined 
him, and in October all marched to attack Goliad, 
which they captured. Here Magee died, but another 
commander was elected, and with a number of Mex- 
ican and Indian allies the Americans set out for San 
Antonio. Near San Antonio the governor had an 
army of two thousand men drawn up to receive 
them, but in the battle which followed he was ter- 
ribly defeated, with the loss of more than half his 



AMERICANS LEAEN OF TEXAS 55 

men. The next day (April 1, 1813) the Ameri- 
cans marched into San Antonio and the governor 
surrendered. 

Trouble begins for the expedition. — This was the 
end of their success. A few days hiter by the order 
of Gutierrez the governor and sixteen other helpless 
prisoners were brutally murdered, and this so hor- 
rified many of the Americans that they returned to 
the United States. Those who remained deposed 
Gutierrez from his office, but the men had lost confi- 
dence in each other and it was never again possible 
to restore the spirit of the expedition. 

The Battle of the Medina and the end of the expe- 
dition. — In June the Americans and their Mexican 
allies defeated near San Antonio a Spanish army of 
fifteen hundred men that was sent against them, 
but in August came the news that another army was 
approaching from Laredo, commanded by General 
Arredondo (Ar-ra-don'do). They determined not 
to wait for its arrival. Under the command of 
Colonel Toledo, eight hundred and fifty Americans, 
six hundred Indians, and some fifteen liundred Mexi- 
cans marched out to meet it on the way. Gen- 
eral Arredondo learned that they were coming and 
planned an ambuscade. Hiding the main part of 
his army near the Medina River, he sent a small 
force ahead and instructed them to engage the 
enemy in a slight skirmish and then fly, as if 
defeated. The Americans would believe that the 



5(5 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

whole army was in retreat, would follow in headlong 
pursuit, and run into the trap. It happened exactly 
as Arredondo had planned, and when they were 
securely entrapped he mercilessly mowed them down 
with cannon and musket. The Mexicans broke and 
fled in terror, but the Americans and the Indians 
fighting desperately died on the field. Less than 
a hundred of the Americans escaped to carry the 
tidings to the Neutral Ground. 

The importance of the Gutierrez and Magee expe- 
dition. — First and last more than a thousand Amer- 
icans followed Magee and Gutierrez into Texas. For 
awhile they occupied all of the province east of San 
Antonio, and they liked it. From this time on there 
was never a moment when some American was not 
fixing longing eyes upon Texas with the hope of 
getting a portion of it for his own. This is one of 
the important results of the expedition. Another 
is that the Americans and the Mexicans began to 
get acquainted and to dislike and distrust each 
other. 

Long's expedition. — The last of the American 
invasions of Texas was led by Dr. James Long, of 
Natchez, Mississipi)i, in 1819. This was the year in 
which the United States and Spain settled their dis- 
pute over the boundary of Texas by agreeing upon 
the Sabine. Many Americans believed that all Texas 
belonged to the United States, and were angry at 
seeing it given up. Long was one of these, and, col- 



AMEEICANS LEAEN OF TEXAS 57 

lecting about three hundred men, he marched to 
Nacogdoches, declared Texas independent, and es- 
tablished a sort of government. He was determined 
that Spain should not keep Texas, even though the 
United States might not want it. But he failed. As 
soon as the authorities at San Antonio heard what 
he was doing they sent an army to Nacogdoches 
and swept his forces from the province. Long con- 
tinued to linger near the borders of Texas trying 
to organize another expedition, and toward the end 
of 1821 he captured Goliad and enjoyed a brief mo- 
ment of success. Soon, however, he was not only 
compelled to surrender the town but was himself 
captured and taken to the City of Mexico a pris- 
oner. There he was shortly released, but was soon 
afterwards killed by a Mexican soldier. The most 
important thing to remember about Long's expedi- 
tion is that through it more Americans were intro- 
duced to Texas and learned to look upon it with 
desire. 

The pirates on Galveston Island. — While the 
Spaniards in Texas were busy trying to put down 
Mexican rebels and drive back American invad- 
ers, bands of desperate characters seized Galveston 
Island and made it headquarters for their evil 
doings. They claimed to be friends of Mexico fight- 
ing against Spain, but in reality they were outlaws 
engaged in piracy and slave trading. That is, they 
made their living by capturing richly laden vessels, 



58 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

and selling the cargoes as their own, and by get- 
ting African negroes in Cuba and smuggling them 
into the United States for sale. The first to make 
such unworthy use of the Island was Louis Aury 
(Loo'ie O'ry), who established himself there in 1816. 
He left after a year, but was followed by Jean 
Lafitte. This gentlemanly rascal continued to ply 
his dishonest business until 1821, when the United 
States government sent a war ship and broke up 
his settlement. These men are of no importance in 
the history of Texas, but they helped to give Texas 
a bad name with the world, which it took many 
years to live down, and the story of their deeds 
illustrates the sad condition of disorder into which 
the country was plunged at this time. 

Summary. — In 1762 Fran,ce gave Spain its terri- 
tory west of the Mississippi and in 1763, at the 
close of the French and Indian war, ceded its lands 
east of the river to England. The English and the 
Spanish thus became neighbors on the Mississippi. 
Shortly afterwards the English settlements became 
the independent United States of America, and by 
the purchase of Louisiana in 1803 the boundary 
between the Americans and the Spaniards was 
moved back to the border of Texas. A boundary 
dispute arose which was provisionally arranged in 
1806 by the Neutral Ground agreement and perma- 
nently settled in 1819, when both the United States 
and Spain accepted the Sabine as the dividing line. 



AMEEICANS LEARN OF TEXAS 59 

During tlie first twenty years of the nineteenth 
century three American expeditions, led by Philip 
Nolan, Augustus Magee, and James Long, invaded 
Texas for the purpose of taking it from Spain. 
They all failed, but they were important steps in 
the process by which the Americans became ac- 
quainted with Texas. 

QUESTIONS 

1. When and from whom did England get the territory 
between the Mississippi and the Appalachian mountains? 

2. Who owned the territory west of the Mississippi at the 
time ? What was the importance of this situation for Texas ? 

3. How and Avhen did the English settlements become the 
United States? 

4. How and when did the United States get the territory 
west of the Mississippi ? 

5. What was the importance of this for Texas? 

6. Describe the settlement of the boundary dispute be- 
tween the United States and Spain. 

7. Where was the Neutral Ground? 

8. What was the character of its population? Why did 
it get a population of such a character ? 

9. To what power did the Neutral Ground go in the 
boundary settlement of 1819 ? 

10. Tell the story of Nolan's expedition. What probably 
was his object? 

11. Did Spain have a right to keep him out of Texas? 
About where was he killed? 

12. Tell the story of Nolan's companions. 

13. Tell the story of Ellis Bean. 

14. Give an account of the Gutierrez and Magee expedi- 



60 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

tion. What was its real object? Who was the active com- 
mander? Why was Gutierrez given the title of general? 

15. Describe the battle of the Medina. 

16. Tell the story of Long's expedition. What connection 
did it have with the settlement of the boundary dispute be- 
tween the United States and Spain? 

17. What is the chief importance of these three expedi- 
tions ? 

18. What was going on on Galveston Island from 1817 to 
1821? How did this affect the reputation of Texas? 

ADDITIONAL EEADING 

Nolan's expedition : Bolton and Barker, With the Makers 
of Texas, 67-75; Davis, Under Six Flags, 31-33; Littlejohn, 
"Ellis P. Bean" in Texas History Stories. Bean's own nar- 
rative in Yoakum, History of Texas, 1, 403-52, will be enjoyed 
by pupils to whom it is available. 

The Gutierrez-Magee Expedition: Bolton and Barker, 
75-78; Davis, 36-39. 

Long's Expedition: Bolton and Barker, 87-98; Davis, 40, 
46-48. 

Jean Lafitte: Bolton and Barker, 81-86; Davis, 41-44, 

The Neutral Ground : Davis, 33-36. 



4 



▲ 



CHAPTER V 

COLONIZATION: THE AMERICANS SETTLE TEXAS 

A glance backward. — We have now studied three 
hundred years of the history of Texas, and what 
have we learned? For nearly two hundred years 
Spain rested idly on its claim to Texas, and took 
no steps to improve it until the approach of the 
French compelled it to settle for fear of losing 
the country. Fear of the French was followed by 
fear of the Americans, but, with all its efforts, the 
best that Spain could do during the third hundred 
years was to keep alive the three small settlements 
of San Antonio, Goliad, and Nacogdoches. As late 
as 1820 there were, besides the Indians, scarcely 
four thousand people in Texas, all in a wretched 
and poverty-stricken condition. And what Spain 
itself could not do for the province it would not 
let others do. No foreigner was allowed west of 
the Sabine. Now history teaches no lesson more 
clearly than this, that a nation shall not keep for 
itself alone what it will not or cannot properly use. 
The Spaniards had had their chance with Texas 
and failed; it was time for the Mexicans to try. 

61 




Stephen F. Austin 



AMERICANS SETTLE TEXAS 63 

Mexico frees itself from Spain. — Mexico had fared 
little better than Texas under Spanish rule. It was 
governed by officials whom the king appointed and 
according to laws which the king decreed. The 
Mexicans had nothing to say in the management 
of their own government. They were heavily taxed 
witliout their consent. And they were not even 




Spanish Settlements in Texas Before 1800 
Adapted from a map by Elizabeth H. West in the Ivanhoe series. 

1. Natchitoches. 2. San Augustine. 3. Mission San Miguel. (Adaes. ) 
4. Mission Dolores. 5. Mission Guadalupe. G. Mission San Joseph de los 
Nazones. 7. Mission Concepciun, 1st site. 8. Mission Santa Maria. 0. Mis- 
sion San Francisco de los Neches. 10. Mission San Francisco de los Tejas. 
11. Nacogdoches. 12. Ft. St. Louis. 1.3. Mission Refugio. 14. Mission La 
Bahfa. ].">. Mission San Juan. 10. Mission Concepcion. 17. Mission San 
Javier. 18. Mission San Jose. Id. Mission San Francisco de la Espada. 
20. San Antonio de Bexar. 21. San Juan Bautista. 

allowed to buy and sell their goods where they 
could get the best bargains. All foreign trade had 
to be carried on with Spain. Against these and 
other abuses the Mexicans finally revolted in 1810. 



64 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

For many years the revolution merely dragged 
along, and it often seemed that Spain would succeed 
in putting it down. In 1821, however, it took on new 
life, and before the end of that year Mexico was inde- 
pendent. 

The Mexicans unprepared for self-government. — 
But the Mexicans did not know how to use their 
freedom. Spain had never allowed them to learn 
anything about the business of government, so that 
they were now entirely unprepared to govern them- 
selves, and this, of course, pla,ced them at the mercy 
of unscrupulous politicians. The first to take advan- 
tage of their helplessness was General Iturbide, who 
compelled them to make him emperor, and then tried 
to rule as tyrannically as the king had done. He 
was successful for a while, but in about a year he 
was overthrown, and a government somewhat like 
that of the United States was established, with a 
president and congress at the City of Mexico and 
a governor and legislature in the different states. 
We call this sort of government a federal republic. 
It is a good one for an educated, intelligent people 
who have had some practice in governing them- 
selves, but it was an unsuitable one for the Mexicans, 
who had not had such practice. For years, hardly 
knowing what they were about, the poor people 
tore each other to pie,ces in one revolution after 
another, and then in 1835 President Santa Anna 
tried to trample upon their rights, as Iturbide had 



AMERICANS SETTLE TEXAS 



65 



done, by taking the government absolutely into liis 
own hands. This was one of the principal causes 
of the Texas revolution, of which we shall learn a 
great deal more in the next Chapter. 

How Texas was governed by Mexico. — When Mex- 
ico gained its independence it took, of course, all 
the territory that Spain had owned in North Amer- 
ica. This included Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, 
California, and 
parts of Colo- 
rado, Utah, and 
Nevada. In a 
later Chapter of 
this book we 
shall have 1^ 
learn how all of 
this t e r r i t ory 
finally passed 
over to the 

United States, but at present we are concerned 
only with Texas. There were not enough people in 
Texas to make it a separate state, so it w^as joined 
to Coahuila (Ko-a-weerii). At first the town of 
Saltillo (Sal-tee'yo) was the capital of Coahuila and 
Texas, but later the capital was moved to Monclova. 
At the capital was the governor, who looked after 
the general business of the state, and there the 
legislature met to pass laws. Both the governor and 
the legislature were elected by the people, somewhat 




The Cathedkal, City of Mexico 



66 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



as they are with us to-day. In Texas the most impor- 
tant official was the political chief, who lived at 
San Antonio and acted in most respects as the gov- 
ernor of the province. And then, every town had 
an officer called an alcalde (al-cal'da) whose duties 
were partly like those of our own mayor and partly 
like those of a justice of the peace. It was by these 
officials — governor, legislators, political chief, and 
alcaldes — that Texas was governed as long as it 
belonged to Mexico. 

2. THE AMEEICAN COLONIES IN TEXAS 

The purpose of this section. — We have seen how 
the English settlers became Americans and spread 
from the Atlantic Ocean to the Sabine Eiver, and 
how they became acquainted with the land west 
of the Sabine through the filibustering expeditions 
of Nolan, Magee, and Long. It is now time to learn 
how the government at last threw open the doors 
and allowed a stream of Americans to flow in and 
peaceably occupy Texas. 

Moses Austin gets permission to establish a 
colony. — In 1820 Moses Austin went boldly to San 
Antonio and asked the governor to let him bring 
three hundred families to Texas. This was the 
year before Mexico established its independence and 
took Texas away from Spain. The governor may 
well have been surprised at Austin's politeness in 
asking his permission, for the Americans had always 



AMEEICANS SETTLE TEXAS 67 

before tried to force their way into the country 
without asking anybody's consent. Nevertheless, 
as he did not have power to grant the request, he 
refused even to talk about it, and ordered Austin 
to get back to the United States as quickly as he 
could go. Finally, however, he was persuaded by 
Austin's friend Baron Bastrop to forward the peti- 
tion to the proper authorities in Mexico to see if 
they would grant it. And with this plan, though 
by now he had little hope of its being successful, 
Austin was forced to be content. He de.cided to 
return to his home in Missouri to await the answer, 
and. there on the tenth of June, 1821, he died of 
pneumonia, caused by exposure to the weather dur- 
ing his journey. Only a few days before his death 
the notice came that his petition had been granted, 
and one of his last requests was that his son, Stephen 
Fuller Austin, should carry on his plans. 

Stephen Austin establishes the colony. — Stephen 
Austin was on the way from New Orleans to San 
Antonio when he heard of his father's death, and 
of his wish that the plans should not be given 
up. So, with a very sad heart, he kept straight on, 
and asked the governor to let him carry out his 
father's wish. The governor consented, and, after 
choosing a place for the settlement between the Colo- 
rado and Brazos Rivers and south of the Old San 
Antonio Road, this remarkable young man, then 
less than twenty-eight years of age, went to New 



68 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

Orleans and advertised for settlers. His proposal 
was liberal, indeed. To every one who would settle 
in his colony he offered six hundred and forty acres 
of the best land in the province for the ridiculously 
low price of twelve and a half cents an acre. He 
was soon able to start back to Texas with some 
of the three hundred families for which his con- 
tract ,called. Many poor people and some well-to-do 
ones went with him, and all hoped to better their 
condition in this land of promise. They arrived in 
December, 1821, and settled on the Brazos, in what 
is now Washington county. At last Americans had 
a foothold in Texas, and they had come to stay. 
Some of us had great-grandfathers in this settle- 
ment. 

Early difficulties of the colony. — ^But there were 
hardships a-plenty in store for the little colony. 
Austin had arranged for supplies, tools, and seed 
for planting to be brought by the schooner Lively. 
These were to be landed at the mouth of the Colo- 
rado, but for some reason they were landed at the 
Brazos and Austin failed to get them. For a time 
the colonists had to depend for food upon such wild 
game as they could kill, and many a day they went 
hungry. Then Austin was called to the City of Mex- 
ico on business concerning the colony, and the set- 
tlers were left without a leader. Some became 
discouraged and returned to the United States, while 
others wandered off to other parts of the province. 



AMERICANS SETTLE TEXAS 69 

When Austin returned, his colony had ahnost dis- 
appeared. He set to work with a fine spirit to 
build it up again, however, and before the end of 
1824 he was asking permission to bring in three 
hundred more families. 

Mexico invites Americans to Texas.— After the 
Mexicans gained their independence from Spain and 
established a republican form of government, they 
felt a momentary glow of friendly sympathy and 
admiration for the Americans who had only a short 
time before flung olf the yoke of England,. And 
while they were still under the influence of this 
feeling they passed a law cordially inviting Amer- 
icans and other foreigners to come to Texas. Every 
married man who would settle here was offered 
a league of land (4428 acres), and anybody who 
would bring in a hundred families was given a pre- 
mium of twenty-three thousand acres. In many 
parts of Texas to-day a league of land is worth 
a hundred thousand dollars, so that this looks like 
a very generous offer, but you must remember that 
in those days land had little value because there 
were so few people here to use it. 

The empresarios. — In order to earn the large pre- 
miums a number of men hastened to make con- 
tracts with the government to bring hundreds of 
families to Texas. The Mexicans called these men 
empresarios, but we may call them by the more 
familiar title of contractors, for in the present sense 



70 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



that is what the word means. Stephen F. Aus- 
tin himself at different times made new contracts 
to bring in altogether more than fifteen hun- 
dred families. Some of the other contractors with 
whom we must become acquainted were Hayden 
Edwards, Green DeWitt, Martin de Leon (Mar-teen' 
da La-on'), Benjamin E. Milam, David G. Burnet, 

Lorenzo de 
Zavala, and two 
Irishmen named 
McMullen and 
McGloin. Ed- 
wards arranged 
to settle eight 
hundred families 
around Nacogdo- 
ches, but he soon 
got into trouble 
with the govern- 
ment and his con- 
tract was can- 
celed. We shall 
learn more of this in another place. DeWitt agreed 
to settle three hundred families between the Guada- 
lupe and Lavaca Eivers. Gonzales became the prin- 
cipal town in his colony. De Leon contracted to 
settle a hundred and fifty Mexican families in the 
present counties of Victoria and Lavaca. And 
McMullen and McGloin established an Irish colony 



s 




A w\ \ 






"^A oV ^ . JX 




W 








»^j-i*^i\acDgdoche ^.\ 


^ — ■ s^^^ 


V* 


/'l O \ ^^^ ) \ r\ 


cA 


\° 


1 cJockett\ ^^ \ 


e-l 




1 / \ ^\ 5y ) 






/VQ^i^t:^ |I 


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^<r \ "^0 '"'^ 1 f 




SanP 


elipe) \ I V 1 


San Antaujo >w 






C^' 


s^W 




c^y 


^^^y^^ 


Corpus Christi^ 


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Some Eakly Colonial Grants 

1. Edwards's colony. 2. Austin's first and 
second colonies. 3. DeWitt's colony. 4. De 
Leon's colony. 5. McMullen and McGloin's colony. 



AMEEICANS SETTLE TEXAS 71 

between the San Antonio and Nueces Rivers. San 
Patricio became the chief town of this colony. A 
study of the map will show where the other contract- 
ors started their colonies, but as they did not suc- 
ceed in settling many families we need not further 
notice them now. 

The Americans rapidly settle Texas. — Soon a 
stream of American settlers began to pour into 
Texas, tempted by the liberal invitation of Mexico 
and the glowing advertisements of the contractors. 
Every boat that landed at Velasco or Matagorda 
brought settlers, while others came by land in 
wagons or on horseback. From New York, Penn- 
sylvania, Virginia, and Ohio they came; but most 
of all they came from Tennessee, Mississippi, Ala- 
bama, and Georgia. The wealthy open-handed 
southern planter, with a band of slaves to dig a 
second fortune from the fertile bottom lands of 
the Trinity, Brazos, and Colorado ; the frugal north- 
ern farmer, wealthy in the possession of a family 
of sturdy sons ; the ' ' poor white, ' ' with hardly more 
than the shabby clothes upon his back; bridal 
couples on their honeymoon journey ; young adven- 
turers; lawyers, doctors, merchants — all sorts and 
conditions of men came to Texas. And to all of 
them it was a land bright with promise and hope. 
By 1835 there were between twenty-five and thirty 
thousand Americans in Texas. 

The character of the colonists. — It used to be the 



72 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

fasliion for histories to say that most of the early 
settlers of Texas were bad characters who fled from 
the United States to escape punishment for crime, 
but we can prove that this is not true. No doubt 
there were some vagabonds in the country, just as 
there are in the most respectable communities 
to-day, but the majority of the settlers were simple, 
honest, upright pioneers, no worse than those who 
settled Ohio and Indiana. In fact, undesirable men 
who came to Austin's ,colony were whipped and 
driven away, and in 1829 Austin declared that the 
people in his settlements were as moral, hospitable, 
and law-abiding as could be found at that time in 
any county in the United States. 

3. LIFE IN THE COLONIES 

The houses in which the colonists lived. — The 

early colonists settled in a part of Texas where 
stone was scarce and trees were plentiful. But there 
were no sawmills, and it was too expensive to ship 
lumber from the United States. So for the first few 
years nearly all of the houses were built of logs. 
A house of the best sort would have a long front 
porch, a wide hall, with rooms opening into it on 
each side, plank floors, and great fireplaces and 
chimneys. Such a house was both commodious and 
.comfortable, and some of us to-day would consider 
it a picturesque lodge. But only the very well-to-do 
settlers could afford such a house. Many lived in 



AMEEICANS SETTLE TEXAS 



73 



one-roomed cabins with earthen floors, thatched 
roofs, and mud-chinked walls, which were neither 
convenient nor comfortable. What must have been 
one of the very poorest houses is described by a lady 
who came to Texas from Germany when slie was 




A ( wMi nUTABLE PlONEEE HOME 

about nine years old. She says: "Our house was 
a miserable little hut, covered with straw and hav- 
ing six sides, which were made out of moss. The 
roof was by no means water-proof, and we often 
held an umbrella over our bed when it rained at 
night, while the cows came and ate the moss. Of 



74 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

course we suffered a great deal in the winter. My 
father had tried to build a chimney and fire place 
out of logs and clay, but we were afraid to light a 
fire because of the extreme combustibility of our 
dwelling. So we had to shiver." And she lived in 
this house six years. 

Their furniture. — In general the furniture was as 
crude as the houses. It is true that some of the 
colonists, coming by sea, were able to bring from 
their old homes silver and china and household 
goods sufficient to furnish the new homes in com- 
parative elegance; but many of them brought no 
more than could be packed on the back of a horse, 
and in their cabins the furniture was likely to be 
of the home-made sort. Their benches, stools, and 
tables were hewn from the trunks of trees, and they 
sometimes ate their scanty food from wooden plat- 
ters and drank their milk from gourds. Sometimes 
the barest necessities, such as beds, washbasins, and 
towels, were lacking. One who suffered the hard- 
ships of those early days says "my mother was 
on,ce called to a neighbor's, . . . because one of 
the little children was very sick. My mother slept 
on a deer skin, without a pillow, on the floor. In 
the morning, the lady of the house poured water 
over mother's hands and told her to dry her face on 
her bonnet. ' ' 

Food. — For the first few years the crops were not 
sufficient to meet the needs of the incoming colonists 



AMERICANS SETTLE TEXAS 75 

for bread and seed corn, and they were often com- 
pelled to live for months upon the game which they 
could kill. Deer and wild turkeys could usually be 
found, but occasionally hunger drove them to eat 
the mustang ponies which roamed the prairies in 
countless numbers. In time, however, this changed: 
crops became more abundant, and cornbread ceased 
to be a luxury; the gardens furnished fresh vege- 
tables for the table; honey was obtained from bee- 
trees in the woods; and soon cattle and hogs were 
adding milk and butter and beef and pork to the 
bill of fare. It did not then so much matter that 
the price of flour was very high because, with the 
other things, it was no great hardship to do without 
biscuits and cake. For a good many years, however^ 
mills were so scarce in Texas that a colonist often 
had to go thirty miles to get his corn ground into 
meal. 

Clothing. — Calico was fifty cents a yard in the 
stores, and other goods were proportionally high. 
But most of the colonists were not troubled by that, 
for nearly every .cabin contained a spinning wheel 
and a rude loom for the making of homespun cloth, 
and that was what most of them wore. Some had 
suits of buckskin for rough wear, and moccasins 
were commoner than boots and shoes. 

Hospitality. — But scarcity and want did not make 
the colonists selfish or inhospitable, and the traveler 
was always sure of a welcome among them wherever 



76 A SCHOOL HTSTOEY OF TEXAS 

he went. One witness says: "The settlers with 
whom we came in contact were very kind and hos- 
pitable; and this was true of nearly all the old 
American pioneers. They would receive one with 
genuine pleasure and share the last piece of bread. 
Money was out of the question and if you had offered 
it to those people, they would have been amazed. 
When 3^ou came to one of the old settlers, you were 
expected to make yourself at home. He would see 
that your horses were well fed, and offer you the 
best cheer he could; and you were expected to 
do the same when the next opportunity presented 
itself." 

Amusements. — Nor must we gain the impression 
that life was entirely filled with hardships for the 
early settlers. It is true that they were often lonely, 
that they w^ere in constant danger from the treacher- 
ous Indians, that they worked hard, and sometimes 
went hungry; but they took these things as a mat- 
ter of course, and, looking hopefully to the future 
for better times, enjo3^ed to the utmost such pleas- 
ures as came their way. Their amusements were 
much like those of people who live in the country 
to-day — hunting, fishing, shooting matches, riding- 
wild horses, dancing parties, weddings, and an occa- 
sional trip to town. At first there were no Sunday 
schools nor churches to serve as gathering places, 
but they sometimes met at a camp meetmg under 
the shelter of a spreading tree, and before and after 



AMERICANS SETTLE TEXAS 



77 



the sermon talked of old times in the United States 
and indulged in golden prophecies of the future. 
None of us would care to exchange places with the 
pioneers of those old days, but if we could do so, 
we should find many things to amuse us in the life 
that they led. 

Indians. — The Indians were the greatest annoy- 
ance and danger with which the colonists had to 
contend. The hostile ones murdered and the friend- 
ly ones robbed them, and the worst of it was that 
nobody could 
tell when a 
friendly tribe 
might suddenly 
turn hostile and 
go on the war- 
p a t h. They 
would sometimes 
hang around a 
settlement for 
months, begging, trading, and pilfering, and then, 
without a moment's warning", would dash away to 
some lonely neighborhood and, unless help came 
quickly, kill every living soul. After a massacre 
of this sort the colonists themselves would take the 
warpath and hunt the Indians down like wild beasts. 
A battle would follow, and the Indians were gener- 
ally defeated, but the colonists also frequently suf- 
fered. Still, the settlers sometimes found the more 




Me-ta'-tes, Used by the Indians and Mexi- 
cans FOIl JklASHING COKN 



78 A SCHOOL HI8T0EY OF TEXAS 

civilized Indians really useful, and often traded 
them ammunition and corn for venison, moccasins, 
and skins. The Indians liked nothing better than 
driving a close bargain, and one old chief of the 
Tonkawas (Tonk'a-ways) used to boast that if he 
could only get Austin to trade with him, he could 
cheat him out of his colony. An old settler says 
that Austin once furnished this same chief with a 
supply of seed corn and some farming tools and 
made him promise to raise a crop, but he ate the 
corn and then told Austin that the Great Spirit 
had forbidden the Tonkawas to plant corn. He said 
that they must hunt, as they had always done, and 
depend upon their white brothers for bread. Austin 
replied that the Tonkawas would surely starve, if 
they did not work, but his threat had no effect. 

The occupations of the colonists. — Most of the 
colonists w^ere farmers. Those who could afford it 
imported tools from New Orleans and cultivated 
with their slaves vast fields of cotton and corn. 
Others who did not even possess a hoe burned away 
the brush and canebrakes and planted corn with a 
sharpened stick. This, of course, was in the earliest 
days of the colonies. As time passed conditions 
improved. The principal crops were cotton and corn, 
some tobacco and sugar cane, and the usual garden 
vegetables. Everybody tried to raise a few horses, 
some cattle, and hogs; and in parts of the colonies 
sheep were raised for their wool. There were a 



AMEEICANS SETTLE TEXAS 79 

good many lawyers in Texas, among whom we must 
remember William B. Travis, who so gloriously died 
in the Alamo; a few physicians; and some mer- 
chants. The first stores were at San Felipe, Quin- 
tana, Harrisburg, and Nacogdoches. At Quintana, 
near the month of the Brazos, Thomas F. McKinney 
and Samuel M. Williams had a large wholesale es- 
tablishment, where they stored goods which they 
bought in New Orleans and sold to retail merchants 
in all parts of the colonies. This was long before 
the time of railroads, and at first the goods had 
to be hauled from Quintana in heavy freight wagons 

drawn by many 
yokes of oxen. 
Later they were 
taken up the Bra- 
zos in a steam- 
boat. In short, if 
we could visit the 
OLD srECT.cLEs Texas of seventy- 

five years ago, 
we should see in their infancy the beginnings of the 
principal industries of our state to-day. 

The condition of the colonies in 1834. — According 
to a careful Mexican account, the colonists in 1834 
were scattered along the rivers south of the Old 
San Antonio Road from the Nue,ces to the Sabine, 
and were beginning to prosper. They had sawmills, 
cotton gins, and mills for grinding corn. There was 




go A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

a steamboat on the Brazos, and two others were 
ordered, one for the Trinity and one for the Neches. 
They shipped great quantities of cotton, corn, cattle, 
and the skins of animals to New Orleans and ex- 
changed them for machinery, farming implements, 
household goods, flour, coffee, etc., which could not 
be produced in the colonies. This Mexican writer 
noticed with regret, however, that in all Texas there 
were only four small schools, and that they were 
very poor, but he said that colonists w^ho could 
afford it sent their children to the United States to 
school. 

Summary. — At the very end of its rule in Texas 
the Spanish government gave Moses Austin permis- 
sion to plant an American colony in the province, 
and upon his death continued the grant to his son 
Stephen. Then Mexico became independent, and 
offered great bounties of land to all who settled in 
Texas. Austin arrived with the first of his colonists 
in December, 1821, and less than four years later a 
number of other empresarios made contracts to 
bring hundreds of families to Texas. By 1835 there 
were at least twenty.five thousand Americans in 
the country. At first they suffered a great many 
hardships, but conditions improved as time went 
on, and most of them became able to live very com- 
fortably. In less than a dozen years the Americans 
did more to develop the province than Spain had 
done in all its three hundred years of possession. 



AMEEI€ANS SETTLE TEXAS 81 

As long as Texas beloiig'ed to Mexico it was united 
with Coaliuila, and the two states had a single gov- 
ernor and legislature, but in Texas the principal 
officer was the political chief. At first there was 
only one political chief, with headquarters at San 
Antonio, but by 1834 there were three, one at San 
Antonio, one at San Felipe, and one at Nacogdoches. 
The colonists really paid very little attention to 
the government in Mexico, and generally managed 
their own affairs. In fact, their connection with the 
United States was closer than with Mexico. Most 
of them had friends or relatives in the United States 
and were constantly going back there on visits or 
on business; they did nearly all their trading in 
the United States; and they sent their children there 
to school. It is important to remember this, because 
it helps to explain in part the Texas revolution. 

QUESTIONS 

1. 'Wliat were the causes of the IMcxican revolution from 
Spain? 

2. Why were the Mexicans unprepared to govern them- 
selves after they became independent? 

3. What sort of a government did they finally establish? 
Why was it not suitable for them ? 

4. Why do you suppose the Spanish government gave 
Moses Austin permission to establish an American colony in 
Texas ? 

5. Why did Mexico continue, in this respect, the liberal 
policy that Spain had begun ? 



82 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

6. What inducements did Mexico offer to settlers in 
Texas? Were any foreigners except Americans invited to 
Texas ? 

7. Who were some of the principal empresarios, or con- 
tractors ? 

8. Show on a map the location of the principal colonies. 

9. From what parts of the United States did most of the 
colonists come? What classes of people were among them? 
Were there many bad characters among them? 

10. Tell of the hardships of the early colonists. 

11. Describe some of their amusements. 

12. Describe a comfortable house in the colonies; a house 
of the poorer sort. 

13. What sort of clothes did the early settlers usually 
wear? 

14. What did they eat ? Tell of their hospitality. 

15. Give an account of their relations with the Indians. 

16. What occupations did most of the colonists follow? 

17. Describe the general condition of Texas in 1834. 

18. AVhere did the colonists buy and sell their goods? 

19. What did they have to sell ? 

20. How did they transport their goods ? 

21. How many schools did they have? 

ADDITIONAL EEADING 

Stephen F. Austin: Bolton and Barker, With the Makers 
of Texas, 100-104 ; Davis, Under Six Flags, 50-56 ; Littlejohn, 
"Stephen F, Austin" in Texas History Stories. 

Life in the Colonies: Bolton and Barker, 104-153; Smith- 
wick, The Evolution of a State (Gammel Book Company, 
Austin), pp. 9-86. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE TEXAS REVOLUTION: THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS 

1. THE GENEEAL CAUSES OF THE KEVOLUTION 

The fundamental cause of the revolution. — The 

causes of the revolution were spread through the 
whole ten years, between 1825 and 1835, but at the 
very bottom of them all was the fact that the Mex- 
icans and the colonists never really got acquainted 
and learned to trust each other. The chief reason 
for this was that they always considered each other 
foreigners. They belonged to different races, and 
had different religions, different ways of living, and 
different ideas of government and education. The 
colonists felt a sort of contempt for the Mexicans. 
They formed very few connections with Mexico, 
while with the United States, where they had left 
friends and relatives, where they sold their crops 
and bought their goods, and where those who could 
afford it sent their children to school, their connec- 
tion was very close. 

The Mexicans soon observed this, and began to 
suspect that the colonists would some day try to take 
Texas away from them and attach it to the United 

83 



84 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

States. This was the beginning of the misunder- 
standing. After the idea had once entered the minds 
of the Mexicans nearly everything that the colo- 
nists did was misinterpreted and only helped to 
strengthen it. The Mexicans then did exactly what 
you would do if j^ou believed that somebody was 
going to try to snat,cli something from you — they 
took measures to prevent the success of such an 
attempt. But now the colonists in their turn mis- 
understood the Mexicans, and considering their 
measures oppressive and unnecessarj^, demanded 
that they be changed. This however, only convinced 
the Mexicans the more thoroughly that the colo- 
nists were plotting a rebellion. They redoubled 
their efforts to prevent it, and in so doing drove the 
colonists into the revolution. If they had been of 
the same race, they might have known each other 
better, or distrusted each other less, and the revolu- 
tion might never have occurred. To see the truth 
of this statement, and to learn the other causes of 
the revolution, we must now take up the principal 
events in the history of Texas between 1825 and 
1835. 

The Fredonian rebellion. — The first thing that 
occurred to give the Mexicans a bad opinion of the 
American settlers was what is called the Fredonian 
rebellion. If you will turn back to page 70, you 
will find among those who made contracts with the 
Mexican government to bring colonists to Texas the 



THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 85 

name of Hayden Edwards. He undertook to settle 
eight hundred families in a vast tract of land in 
East Texas which included the old Spanish town 
of Nacogdoches. There had been, as you remember, 
some Mexican families living in this neighborhood 
ever since Gil Ybarbo founded Nacogdoches in 
1779, and there were, besides, a good many Ameri- 
cans there who had drifted in after Long's expedi- 
tion. Edwards soon got into trouble with these 
old settlers by threatening to take their land away 
from them unless they could prove a good title to 
it, and later he got into trouble with some of his 
own colonists by trying to charge them a small 
fee for the land which the government allowed 
them. Those who were dissatisfied complained to 
the political .chief at San Antonio, who took their 
part. Thereupon Edwards's brother wrote to him 
and attempted to explain the difficulty, but the 
political chief thought the letter so abusive and dis- 
respectful that he canceled Edwards's contract and 
ordered him to leave the country. Now, Edwaids, 
who had spent a fortune in getting his colony 
started, saw^ ruin staring him in the face if com- 
pelled to obey this command, and he determined to 
resist. On December 16, 1826, therefore, with the 
support of a few friends, he declared Texas inde- 
pendent of Mexico and named it the Republic of 
Fredonia. It is for that reason that we call this the 
Fredonian rebellion. 



86 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

The failure of the rebellion. — Edwards immedi- 
ately saw that lie could not succeed without more 
assistance, and set to w^ork to get it. The Cherokee 
Indians, who had recently come from the United 
States and stopped near Nacogdoches, agreed to help 
him in return for some land, and he then tried to 
stir up the settlers in Austin's colony by persuading 
them that they were being badly mistreated by the 
government. B. W. Edwards, the brother of Hay- 
den, wrote to a prominent colonist, saying: ''I write 
you in much haste to apprise you that the Amer- 
icans in this end of the province have at length 
resolved to throw off the yoke of despotism and to 
be freemen. . . . We have been shamefully op- 
pressed for twelve months. . . . We are the sons 
of freemen and will sooner die than be slaves! . . . 
We look upon you as our brothers, and as such 
expect to find you in arms, ready to avenge our 
wrongs and to protect your own rights against the 
faithless government." 

But Austin's colonists paid no attention to 
Edwards. Though they were sorry for him, they 
believed that he was in the wrong, and they knew 
that it would ruin them all if they joined him. Ellis 
Bean persuaded the Cherokee s to lay down their 
arms, and when the Mexican soldiers advanced from 
San Antonio to put down the disturbance some of 
Austin's men went with them. Upon the approach 
of the soldiers the Edwards brothers realized that 



THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 87 

they were helpless, and on January 31, 1827, a little 
more than six weeks after their declaration of inde- 
l^endence, they fled to the United States, and the 
Fredonian rebellion was at an end. The government 
later divided np the land which was to have been 
included in Edwards's colony and granted it to 
Lorenzo de Zavala, David Gr. Burnet, and others. 

The importance of the Fredonian rebellion. — One 
slight skirmish in which a man was killed and sev- 
eral were wounded was the only fighting that took 
place during the Fredonian rebellion, but the effect 
of the rebellion upon the minds of the Mexicans 
was very much more serious. It was the first defi- 
nite thing that happened to make the Mexicans fear 
that the colonists would finally take Texas away 
from them. If a mere handful were bold enough 
to make the attempt at this early date, would they 
not surely suc.ceed when their numbers increased 
and the province was full of them"? It was true 
that Austin's colonists had refused to have anything 
to do with the uprising, but the Mexicans said to 
themselves that this might have been only because 
they realized that the time was not yet ripe. You 
see, they did not trust the Americans. And pretty 
soon they began trying to discourage them from 
coming to Texas. 

How the Mexicans tried to check American immi- 
gration into Texas. — At first the Mexicans did not 
come out openly and forbid Americans to settle in 



88 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

Texas, but attempted to reach the same end by a 
round-about way. They saw that many of the colo- 
nists from the southern states brought slaves with 
them, and the idea occurred to them that if the 
slaves already in Texas were de,clared free and no 
others were allowed to enter, a good many Ameri- 
cans would stop coming. It is likely that this really 
w^ould have happened, because at that time there 
were no laborers to be hired in Texas, and the only 
way in which large plantations could be cultivated 
was by slaves. So, on September 15, 1829, President 
Guerrero issued a proclamation freeing the slaves 
throughout Mexico. 

Now, there were very few slaves in any of the 
Mexican territory except Texas, most of the labor 
elsewhere being done by peons, w^ho by law were 
free but who in reality were worse off than the slaves 
in Texas, The colonists saw immediately, therefore, 
that the president's decree was aimed at them, and 
it made them very angry. It seemed for a time that 
they might go to war, but Stephen F. Austin per- 
suaded them to first send a petition to the president, 
telling him that the proclamation would ruin Texas, 
and asking him to withdraw it. Even the Mexicans 
living in Texas endorsed this petition, and when it 
reached President Guerrero he granted it by except- 
ing Texas from his proclamation. This caused great 
rejoicing among the colonists, but at the same time 
they did not forget that the government had delib- 



THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 89 

erately tried to ruin tliem, and bitter rese-ntment 
was mingled with their joy. The breach between 
them and Mexico was widened. 

The law of April 6, 1830.— Scarcely had this 
excitement subsided when the colonists were irri- 
tated almost beyond control by the law of April 6, 
1830. You will have no difficulty in understanding 
why they objected to it w^lien you learn its princi- 
pal provisions. First, it forbade the settlement 
of any more Americans in Texas except in Aus- 
tin's and DeWitt's colonies, and made it extremely 
troublesome for them to settle even there. Second, in 
order to outnumber as soon as possible the Ameri- 
cans already in Texas, it provided that Mexican 
convicts should be sent to the province to serve 
their terms and then permanently settled there. 
Third, it provided that a number of Mexican sol- 
diers should be scattered through Texas to watch 
the colonists and keep them in subjection. And, 
finally, it established custom houses at the seaports, 
where taxes had to be paid upon all goods that were 
not bought in Mexico. The purpose of this, of course, 
was to break up the trading between Texas and New 
Orleans. 

Why the colonists objected to the law of April 6. 
— The colonists saw that if the law was carried out, 
they would be almost entirely cut off from their 
friends and relatives in the United States, and that 
Texas would become filled with low-class Mexicans 



90 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

through the settlement of ex-convicts, and of sol- 
diers, who were nearly as bad as the convicts. At 
first they had no right to object to the establish- 
ment of custom houses and the collection of tariff 
duties on goods imported from the United States, 
because at that time every country in the world 
imposed the same sort of taxes on foreign trade, but, 
as we shall see, they soon had good reason to com- 
plain of the tyrannical methods employed by the 
collectors. 

Failure to enforce the law of April 6. — But the 
government could never enforce the law. Though 
it stationed troojDs in many places, Americans con- 
tinued to slip into Texas; and though it established 
custom houses at Anahuac, Velasco, and Matagorda, 
and collected the duty on goods from the United 
States, the colonists continued to trade with New 
Orleans. They were glad, of course, that the Mex- 
icans could not enforce the law, but it is a charac- 
teristic trait of the American people to admire men 
who can do things and to despise those who cannot, 
so that this very failure to carry out the law soon 
caused them to lose what respect they still retained 
for the Mexicans. 

The first breath of the revolution, fighting at Ana- 
huac. — In 1832 the colonists were so infuriated by 
the treatment which they received from two Mexican 
officials that they flew to arms. The objectionable 



THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 91 

men were Colonel John Bradburn/ commander of 
the fort at Analiuac, and George Fisher, collector of 
the custom house at the same place. Their first 
offense was to order all the ports closed except Ana- 
huac. That is, they issued a notice saying that all 
vessels bringing merchandise to Texas must land 
at Anahuac and pay duty. This was very inconve- 
nient for colonists who had been having their goods 
landed nearer home, at the mouth of the Brazos or 
of the Colorado, and they made such a determined 
protest that Bradburn withdrew the order. But 
while they were still in bad humor over this, he 
began encouraging slaves to run away from their 
masters, saying that slavery was against the laws 
of Mexico and that they were therefore free. And 
finally, in retaliation for a practical joke that was 
played on him, he arrested Patrick C. Jack and 
William B. Travis and threw them into prison. 

This was more than the colonists would stand. A 
number of them marched to Analiuac and ordered 
him to release the prisoners, and when he refused 
a skirmish took place in which one Texan and five 
Mexicans were killed. The colonists then drew oif 
and went into camp until they could send to Brazoria 
for some cannon. This was July 13, 1832. While 
they were still waiting. Colonel Piedras (Pe-a'dras) 

^ Bradburn was a Kentuckian who, like Ellis Bean, entered 
the Mexican service during the revohition from Spain and was 
promoted to high rank in the army. 



93 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

arrived from Nacogdoches and persuaded Bradburn 
to give up the prisoners and leave Texas. His sol- 
diers remained at Anahuac about a month longer 
and then followed him to Mexico. 

The Battle of Velasco. — But this was not the end 
of the fighting. The men who went to Brazoria for 
the cannon intended carrying them down the Brazos 
on a steamboat and thence by sea to Anahuac, but 
when they reached Velasco, at the mouth of the 
river. Colonel Ugartechea (U-gar-ta-cha'a), who 
commanded the fort there, .would not let them 
pass. For several days they argued with him, and 
then at midnight on June 26, 1832, they attacked 
him with a hundred and fifty men. The battle waged 
hotly until day light, when a heavy rain storm put 
a stop to it. The Mexicans had five men killed and 
sixteen wounded, while the Texans had seven killed 
and fourteen wounded. Three days later Ugartechea 
abandoned the fort and marched away to Mexico 
with what men he had left. 

The soldiers driven from the rest of Texas. — At 
the beginning of August the colonists attacked 
Colonel Piedras, and after a fierce battle drove him 
from Nacogdoches. This was the last of the fight- 
ing. One after another the remaining garrisons 
marched away to Mexico, and by the end of the 
year there were only a few soldiers scattered here 
and there in Texas. The custom officers went 



THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS 



93 



with the soldiers, and the colonists again found 
themselves free from annoyance. 

How the colonists explained their rebellion. — But 
the colonists, knowing that the Mexicans might con- 
sider the fighting in Texas a rebellion and send a 
large army to crush them, hit upon a clever scheme 
to prevent it. A revolution led by General Santa 
Anna was going on in Mexico at this time and 
seemed about to 
overthrow the 
government. 
When, therefore, 
the colonists were 
asked to explain 
why they drove 
the troops from 
Texas they re- 
plied that they 

favored Santa old Fokt at Nacogdoches 

Anna and attacked the government soldiers in order 
to assist him. If Santa Anna had failed, this ex- 
planation would have done them more harm than 
good, but fortunately he won, and of course he could 
not punish them for helping him. 

The importance of the difficulties of 1832. — These 
conflicts of 1832 w^ere really the beginning of the 
Texas revolution. They were the last thing needed 
to convince the Mexicans that the Texans were dan- 
gerous characters, bent upon seizing the province. 





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94 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

Even Santa Anna, for whom they claimed to be 
fighting, did not believe them, and when he became 
president in 1833 he determined to crush them 
utterly at the first sign of insurrection. On the 
other hand, the fighting had caused the colonists 
to despise the Mexicans, and had shown them that 
they could take care of themselves in case of a 
war. In short, the suspicion and distrust of both 
parties were increased, and from this moment the 
revolution developed rapidly. 

The colonists send Austin to Mexico to secure the 
separation of Texas from Coahuila. — The first use 
which the colonists made of their victory was to 
try to obtain the separation of Texas from Coahuila. 
They believed that the union with Coahuila was 
harmful to Texas, and that the organization of a 
separate state government w^ould enable them to 
avoid in future such abuses as they had recently 
suffered from the Mexican officials. They accord- 
ingly held a convention at San Felipe on April 1, 
1833, and drew up a petition begging for separa- 
tion.^ General Sam Houston, who had only arrived 
in Texas a few months before, wrote such a consti- 
tution as they desired for the new state, and Austin 
was elected to take it and the petition to Mexico 

^ A convention which had been held in October, 1832, dis- 
cussed the same question and appointed William H. AVharton 
and Eafael Manchola to carry petitions on this and several 
other subjects to Mexico, but they failed to go. 



THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS 95 

and get the govermneut to approve tliem. Austin 
thought the whole plan unwise at that time, but 
the people, knowing that he better than any one 
else could persuade the government to agree to the 
change, insisted on his going, and he went. This 
illustrates Austin's readiness to sacrifice his own 
opinions as well as his comfort and convenience in 
the service of the people. 

Austin fails to secure separation. — When Austin 
reached Mexico President Santa Anna was not in 
the city, so he laid the petition before Vice-President 
Gomez Farias (Go-mas' Fa-re'as). But Farias, who 
had no liking for the Texans, Avould never give him 
an answer, and after several months Austin became 
impatient and wrote a letter to Texas advising the 
people to go ahead and organize a government with- 
out waiting any longer. Soon after this Santa Anna 
returned, and Austin placed the matter before him. 
He refused to make Texas a state, but he did prom- 
ise to make a number of important reforms which 
the Texans desired, and Austin then started home, 
very well satisfied. Before he got to Texas, how- 
ever, he was overtaken by soldiers and arrested by 
order of the vice-president. 

Austin thrown into prison. — The cause of this was 

" the letter which Austin had written to Texas. Some 

one sent it to the vice-president, and it so enraged 

him that he threw Austin into prison and for months 

would not allow him to speak to anybody or to have 



96 



A SCHOOL HTSTOEY OF TEXAS 



any books, Austin suffered terribly, and the worst 
of it was that he knew he did not deserve it. In a 
little diary which he kept while in prison we are still 
able to read dimly these words: "What a horrible 
punishment is solitary confinement, shut up in a 
dungeon with scarcely light enough to distinguish 
anything. If I were a criminal it would be another 
thing, but I am not one . . . my intentions were 
pure and correct." And later in the same diary he 

wrote: " How 
happy I could 
have been on a 
farm alongside of 
my brother-in-law 
far from the cares 
a n d difficulties 
that now sur- 
round me. But I 
thought it was my 

Austin's Pistols and Hatchet duty to obey the 

call of the people, and go to Mexico as their agent. 
I have sacrificed myself to serve them." He was 
kept in prison for fifteen months, and was not 
allowed to leave Mexico until the middle of 1835. 
His punishment was a cruel injustice and was deeply 
resented by the colonists, who were grateful for his 
services. Little more was needed to stir them to a 
revolt from Mexico, and that was soon supplied by 
the action of Santa Anna. 






THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS 97 

Summary of the general causes of the revolution. 

— If we stop for a moment now and look back over 
the troubles that have been described, w^e shall see 
that most of them grew out of the failure of the 
Mexicans and the colonists to understand each other, 
and this was chiefly due to the fact that they be- 
longed to different races. Though only a handful 
of the colonists joined in the Fredonian rebellion, 
it caused the Mexicans to suspect that all of them 
wished to take Texas, and the fighting of 1832 and 
the petition for separation from Coahuila strength- 
ened their suspicion. They believed that separa- 
tion from Coahuila would only be the first step 
toward separation from Mexico. At the same time 
we have seen how the colonists were irritated almost 
beyond endurance by the emancipation decree of 
1829, the law of April 6, 1830, the tyranny of 
Bradburn and Fisher in 1832, and the imprisonment 
of Austin in 1834. But Ave must not judge the Mexi- 
cans too harshly. Remember that Texas belonged 
to them and that they honestly believed that they 
were in danger of losing it. They were merely try- 
ing desperately in the only way that they knew to 
save it. Neither can we blame the Americans, for 
they come of a people who have never borne oppres- 
sion with patience. 

2. THE IMMEDIATE CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION 

Santa Anna's measures. — It was Santa Anna who 
finally exhausted the patience of the colonists and 



98 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

drove them into the revolution. With what he did 
in Mexico we are not concerned, but in Texas two 
important measures must be noticed. First he deter- 
mined to re-occupy Texas with soldiers. His other 
measure was to order the military commander in 
Texas to arrest some of the most prominent colo- 
nists and send them to Mexico for trial. Let us now 
more fully examine these measures. 

The colonists and the soldiers. — At the end of 
1834 there were only three companies of soldiers in 
Texas, two at San Antonio and one at Goliad. Since 
these towns were inhabited principally by Mexicans, 
the colonists did not object to a few soldiers being 
there, but it was entirely another matter when a 
company went to Anahuac in January, 1835, and 
the rumor spread that Santa Anna was going to send 
others to Texas as soon as possible. Trouble imme- 
diately arose, but nothing serious occurred until the 
colonists captured a courier bearing letters from 
Mexico to Captain Tenorio, who commanded at Ana- 
huac, and learned from these letters that reinforce- 
ments were on the way to him. Then a band of hot- 
tempered young men, led by William B. Travis, 
resolved to drive Tenorio out before the new troops 
arrived, and marching to Anahuac, armed with their 
rifles and a small cannon, they ordered him to sur- 
render. He knew that it was useless to fight, but 
asked for time to consider. Travis allowed him only 
one hour, but that was enough, for at the end of it 



THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS 99 

he surrendered. The next morning, after giving up 
their arms and ammunition, he and his men started 
for San Antonio. At first a good many of the colo- 
nists thought Travis had been too hasty, but they 
soon had cause to change their minds. 

The arrest of Travis and other prominent colo- 
nists ordered. — As soon as General Cos, the brother- 
in-law of Santa Anna, and the commander of north- 
ern Mexico and Texas, heard of the attack on Ana- 
huac, he ordered the arrest of Travis, Samuel Will- 
iams, R. M. Williamson, Mosely Baker, and others, 
and directed that they should be sent to Mexico and 
tried by a military court. At the same time came 
the news that troops in large numbers were on the 
way to San Antonio. These two things turned the 
Texans squarely against Santa Anna. They were 
determined not to submit to a military occupation 
of Texas, because they remembered the abuses which 
they had suffered from the soldiers in 1832; and 
they were equally determined not to permit the 
arrest of the men whom Cos was demanding, because 
none of them was guilty of any wrongdoing except 
Travis, and under the circumstances they did not 
consider his offence a very serious one. They tried 
to send a committee to General Cos, to explain that 
they wanted to remain at peace with Mexico and 
that the soldiers would not be needed in Texas, but 
at San Antonio the committee was stopped by a 
letter from Cos saying that he would not talk to 



100 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

them until Travis and the others were surrendered. 
There the matter rested, and as troops continued 
to arrive at San Antonio the colonists commenced 
preparing for war. 

The return of Stephen F. Austin. — Early in Sep- 
tember (1835) Austin returned from his long impris- 
onment in Mexico, and told the people that the time 
had come for war. They believed him, because they 
knew that he loved peace and would never advise 
war if it could be honorably avoided. From this 
moment Austin took the lead, and at his command 
horsemen rode in hot haste to all parts of the coun- 
try collecting arms and ammunition and urging the 
colonists to form military companies and begin to 
drill. On September 19 in a circular letter which 
was scattered broadcast he said: "War is our only 
resource. There is no other remedy but to defend 
our rights, ourselves, and our country by force of 
arms. ' ' And three days later he sent forth a ringing 
call for every man in Texas to seize his arms "in 
defence of his country and his rights." This was 
enough. The colonists were ready, and the clash of 
battle was not to be much longer delayed. 

3. THE FIRST STAGE OF THE WAE, THE CAMPAIGN 
OF 1835 

The battle of Gonzales. — The first shot was fired 
at Gonzales, where the Mexicans tried to get a can- 
non which the people had there to protect them from 



THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 



101 



the Indians. Colonel Ugartecliea, who now com- 
manded at San Antonio, knew that they would use 
it against his troops, if they were allowed to keep 
it until the war started, and resolved to get it away 
from them. At first, in order not to alarm the colo- 
nists, he sent only a corporal and five soldiers with 
an ox-cart to receive it, but when they refused to 
give it up, he sent a captain and a hundred dragoons 
to take it. Upon his arrival, 
the captain did not feel 
strong enough to make the 
attempt, so he marched up 
the river several miles and 
went into camp to wait for 
reinforcements. Here for one 
night his men had a pleasant 
time plundering a farmer's 
watermelon patch, but the 
next morning at break of day 
they awoke to find a little army of a hundred and 
fifty Texans advancing upon them with the desired 
cannon mounted on heavy wagon wheels and point- 
ing toward them in a dangerous way. It was loaded 
with pieces of chain and scraps of iron, and at the 
first volley the Mexicans broke and fled in terror, 
leaving one dead upon the field. This was the battle 
of Gonzales, October 2, 1835. 

Austin takes command. — The news that Gonzales 
was threatened had spread rapidly, and now as 




Cannon Used in the Revo- 
lution 



102 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

band after band of anxious volunteers hurried up, 
hoping to be in time to save it, they were greeted 
with the tidings of victory. You may imagine their 
relief. There still seemed to be a chance for them 
to enjoy a fight, however, for it was reported that 
Colonel Ugartechea himself with five hundred men 
was coming to take the cannon. They went into 
camp to wait for him, but as the days passed and 
he did not appear, while their own numbers con- 
tinued to increase, they decided to march boldly 
to San Antonio and attack him. To do this they 
needed a commander in whom all had confidence, 
so they wrote to Austin at San Felipe, and begged 
him to lead them. He was worn out by his recent 
labors and ill from his long imprisonment, but he 
consented, and on October 11 he was elected com- 
mander-in-chief. Two days later the little army 
commenced its march to San Antonio, but before 
following it thither we must notice an important 
victory which another band of colonists won at 
Goliad. 

The capture of Goliad. — While most of the colo- 
nists were flocking to Gonzales another party gath-- 
ered under Captain George M. Collinsworth and 
quietly marched on Goliad, where at the time there 
was a great quantity of valuable military supplies 
protected by only a small garrison. As they ap- 
proached the town, about midnight of October 9, 
they were hailed from the darkness by Colonel Ben. 



THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 103 

R. Milam, who had just escaped from a prison in 
Mexico. Thinking at first that they were Mexican 
soldiers, he had hidden in a thicket, but upon hear- 
ing them talking in English he called out, and was 
overjoyed to find himself among old friends. He 
joined them, and they proceeded toward the town. 
Arriving there, they cautiously stole upon the gar- 
rison and took it completely by surprise. The sol- 
diers did no more than fire a few scattering shots 
and then surrendered, so that without the loss of 
a man the colonists obtained possession of the fort 
and its valuable supplies. These consisted of two 
cannon, three hundred muskets, and some ten thou- 
sand dollars' worth of food and military stores, 
which became of the greatest benefit to General 
Austin and the volunteers who were marching on 
San Antonio. 

Skirmishes around San Antonio. — After leaving 
Gonzales on the 13th of October Austin proceeded 
slowly toward San Antonio. His force increased 
every day, and before the end of the month amounted 
to more than five hundred men. The first fighting 
to speak of occurred at the old mission of Concep- 
cion, at sunrise on October 28. Austin had sent 
James Bowie and J. W. Fannin ahead with ninety 
men to select a camping place near San Antonio, 
and suddenly they found themselves almost sur- 
rounded by about four hundred Mexicans. Fortu- 
nately they were able to take refuge in the river 



104 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



bed, using the bank for a breastwork, and in this 
position they waged a fierce battle for three hours 
with the loss of only one man, while the Mexicans 
left sixteen dead upon the field and were thought 
to have carried away with them as many more. 




Mission Concepcion 



This was indeed a remarkable victory, against tre- 
mendous odds, and it gave the volunteers fresh 
confidence in themselves. 

The next fighting of any consequence took place 
on November 26, nearly a month after the battle 
of Concepcion, and Bowie played a leading part in 
this, too. On that day Deaf Smith, the famous 



THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 105 

scout, dashed into camp at full speed with the 
announcement that a hundred soldiers were ap- 
proaching San Antonio with horses loaded down 
with bags of silver to pay the troops. You may 
imagine the wild excitement that he caused. In 
a flash Bowie was at the head of a hundred men 
and galloping off to inter.cept them. The whole 
army followed him, and then the Mexican army sal- 
lied out to assist their friends. The result was a 
lively skirmish in which the Mexicans lost some 
fifty men and many of their bags, but these the 
Texans found to their great disappointment were 
filled with grass instead of silver. The Mexicans 
had been bringing in grass to feed the starving- 
horses in the town. For this reason the engagement 
was called the ' ' grass fight. ' ' The Texans had not a 
man killed. 

General Burleson takes command. — Two days 
before this fight occurred General Austin had been 
called from the army by the provisional govern- 
ment, of which we shall learn in the next section, 
and given a more important position. The men 
who composed the government saw that Texas could 
not succeed without assistance from the people of 
the United States, so they appointed a committee 
to go there and explain how Santa Anna had 
oppressed Texas and ask for help. They believed 
that Austin would have more influence with the 
peoj)le than any other man in Texas, so they ap- 



106 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

pointed him, and with him they sent two other 
prominent citizens, William H. Wharton and Dr. 
Branch T. Archer. Before leaving the army Anstin 
ordered an election to be held to select a man for 
his place there, and this resulted in the choice of 
General Edward Burleson. 

Milam storms San Antonio. — But when Austin 
left the volunteers became very restless. Some of 
them wanted to attack the fortifications at once, 
while others believed that this would be useless and 
wanted to go home. None of them wanted to con- 
tinue the siege. They were just on the point of 
breaking camp and retreating when Milam sprang 
up and shouted, "Who will go with Old Ben Milam 
into 'San Antonio I" Three hundred men answered 
" I, " and flocked to his side. This was on the 4tli of 
December. That night they met at the Old Mill 
and made their arrangements, and the next morning 
a little before day they began the attack. For four 
days and nights the battle raged with the greatest 
fury, while Milam and his brave companions fought 
their way from house to house and gradually 
approached the center of the Mexican position. On 
the morning of the 9th General Cos, who commanded 
the Mexicans, raised a white flag, as a sign that he 
wanted to parley, and notified the Texans that he 
was ready to surrender. 

You may well believe that the Texans were proud 
of themselves, for, armed merely with their rifles and 



THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 



107 



a cannon or two, they had taken a fort defended 
by more than a score of cannon and four times their 
own number. The Texans had only two men killed, 
but one of them was the heroic Milam, for whom all 
Texas mourned. According to the terms of the sur- 
render General Cos and his men were allowed to 
keep their arms and march away, but the Texans 




Rear of Cathedkal San Fernando, San Antonio 



took possession of the fort with all its cannon and 
military supplies. 

The end of the campaign of 1835. — With the 
departure of General Gos and his men from San 
Antonio the first campaign was over. But the 
Texans knew that Santa Anna was on the way with 
five or six thousand men, boasting that he would 
drive the last one of them across the Sabine, and 
they had to prepare to meet him. It was two months 



108 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

before he arrived, and while we are waiting for 
him we shall have time to describe the government 
of Texas during the revolution. 

4. THE GOVERNMENT DURING THE REVOLUTION 

The consultation. — ^Before the battle of Gonzales 
was fought the colonists were divided on the ques- 
tion of whether or not they should go to war with 
Mexico. In order to decide it the people of every 
district in Texas elected delegates to meet together 
and consult with each other. For this reason the 
meeting was called the consultation. Before it met 
the battle was fought, and that settled the question 
without the need of further discussion. There was 
still enough work for the consultation to do, how- 
ever, so early in November, after the siege of San 
Antonio was begun, it assembled at San Felipe. 
Three important things are to be remembered about 
its work: (1) it organized a provisional govern- 
ment; (2) it adopted regulations for the formation 
of a regular army, and elected General Sam Houston 
to command it; and (3) as we have seen, it elected 
Austin, William H. Wharton, and Branch T. Ar- 
cher to go to the United States and ask the people 
for help. 

The provisional government. — The government 
as arranged by the consultation was to consist of 
a governor, a lieutenant-governor, and a general 
council. It elected Henry Smith governor, James 
W. Robinson lieutenant-governor, and one man from 



THE AMEKICANS TAKE TEXAS 109 

each district in Texas to compose the council. It' 
was the business of the governor and the council to 
carry out the regulations for organizing the regular 
army, to continue the work of getting help from 
the United States, to procure supplies for the 
volunteers before San Antonio, and to do every thing 
possible for the welfare of the country. For a while 
they worked harmoniously together to do all this, 
but then they commenced to quarrel over which 
had the most authority, and after that everything 
was neglected. This caused the people to elect a 
new assembly, the convention, to take the place of 
both the governor and the council. 

The convention. — The convention met at Wash- 
ington on the Brazos, March 1, 1836. It first notified 
the governor and the council that their services 
were no longer required, and then turned its atten- 
tion to three important things. These were: (1) a 
declaration of independence from Mexico; (2) the 
writing of a constitution for Texas, as an independ- 
ent country; and (3) the election of temporary 
officers to carry on the government until perma- 
nent ones could be chosen by the people. We must 
now briefly study each of these measures separately. 

The declaration of independence. — In the cam- 
paign of 1835 the Texans were fighting not only for 
themselves but for all the Mexicans to prevent 
Santa Anna from changing the government of 
Mexico. As they expressed it, they were fighting 



110 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

to preserve the republican constitution of 1824. But 
they soon saw that most of the Mexicans cared 
nothing" about the constitution, and that they must 
either submit, or declare independence and continue 
the war for themselves. You would hardly need 
to be told which alternative they accepted — they 
declared independence. And here are some of the 
reasons which they gave for the declaration. They 
said: (1) that Mexico had invited the Americans 
to settle Texas and promised them the protection 
of a republican government like that to which they 
were accustomed in the United States, but that 
Santa Anna had now so changed the government that 
it oppressed instead of protecting them; (2) that 
Santa Anna had overthrown the government of 
Coahuila and Texas; (3) that he had kept Austin 
in prison without a cause; (4) that he had demanded 
the surrender of their most prominent citizens, to 
be tried by military officers; (5) that the colonists 
were denied the right of trial by jury; and finally 
(6) that Mexico had failed to establish a system 
of public education. For these and other reasons 
they proclaimed Texas a free and independent 
republic. This was done on March 2, 1836,^ and in 
commemoration of that day we Texans now cele- 
brate every 2d of March as a holiday. 

^ An unofficial declaration of independence had previously 
been made on December 20, 1835, by ninety-one citizens of 
Goliad. 



THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS HI 

The constitution. — The constitution provided for 
the establishment in Texas of a government similar 
to that of the United States. At the head of it was 
a president, elected by the votes of all citizens over 
twenty-one years of age. The congress was to con- 
sist of a senate and a house of representatives ; and 
this body had power to pass all the laws of Texas, 
subject to the veto of the president. The judicial 
system was to consist of a supreme court, as many 
district courts as were found to be needed, and a 
county court in each county. And every man was 
declared to be entitled to a speedy trial by a jury 
for any offence with which he might be charged. 
This was very different from the practice in Mexico, 
where no trial by jury was allowed, and where 
prisoners were often held for years without being 
tried at all. 

The establishment of a temporary government. — 
As was noticed a moment ago, one of the first acts 
of the convention had been to deprive Governor 
Smith of his position, while the constitution declared 
that the regular president should not take charge 
of the government until December. It was now only 
the middle of March, and this made it necessary to 
provide temporary officers to manage affairs until 
December. For that important duty the convention 
elected David G. Burnet president and Lorenzo de 
Zavala vice-president, with a cabinet of able ad- 
visers, among whom was Colonel Thomas J. Rusk, 



112 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

secretary of war. Burnet and Rusk were two of the 
ablest men who have ever served Texas, and it was 
fortunate that they could be included in this first 
government. 

The end of the convention. — The work of the 
convention was concluded amid the wildest excite- 
ment. Santa Anna, as we shall presently see, had 
led an army to Texas during the winter, and reports 
now reached the convention that one of his generals 
had destroyed a hundred men commanded by Colonel 
F. W. Johnson and Dr. James Grant, and that 
Santa Anna himself, after capturing the Alamo and 
putting its defenders to death, was marching east- 
ward to carry out his threat of driving the colonists 
beyond the Sabine. These reports were true, and 
you can easily imagine how anxious they made the 
members of the convention to fly to their families 
and put them in places of safety. When the election 
was over, therefore, and they had listened to an 
inaugural address from President Burnet, they 
hastily adjourned. 

As a part of his speech President Burnet said: 
"The day and the hour has arrived when every 
freeman must be up and doing his duty. The Alamo 
has fallen! The gallant few who so long sustained 
it have yielded to the overwhelming power of 
numbers; . . . but they perished not in vain! The 
ferocious tyrant has purchased his triumph over 
one little band of heroes at a costly price; and a 



THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 



113 



few more such victories would bring speedy ruin 
upon himself. Let us, therefore, fellow-citizens, take 



courage from this glorious disaster; 



let 



us 



implore the aid of an incensed God, who abhors 
iniquity, who ruletli in righteousness, and will 
avenge the oppressed." 




TiiU A LA. MO 



President Burnet's government. — President 

Burnet and his cabinet first established themselves 
at Harrisburg and took up the work of getting 
supplies for the army and of assisting the helpless 
women and ,cliildren who were fleeing from tlie 
country to escape the on-coming Mexicans. Soon, 
however, the advance of Santa Anna drove them to 
Galveston Island, and there we shall leave them for 



114 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

a time while we turn back to trace the history of 
the campaign of 1836. 

5. THE CAMPAIGN OF 1836 

Texan operations during the winter. — When 
General Cos surrendered and marched away from 
San Antonio in the middle of December, 1835, the 
Texans knew that Santa Anna w^ould be upon them 
in the spring with a larger army than they had 
yet faced, but they could not agree upon a plan of 
defense. The general council of the provisional 
government thought that the best thing would be 
to send a force to attack the Mexican town of Mata- 
moros at the mouth of the Eio Grande, because that, 
if it succeeded, would keep Santa Anna out of Texas 
altogether. But Governor Smith opposed this, 
thinking that every effort should be made to 
organize the regular army and to establish a strong 
garrison at San Antonio for the purpose of checking 
Santa Anna there when he began his invasion. 

This illustrates one of the most disastrous results 
of the quarrel between Governor Smith and ~ the 
council. Because neither one would accept the plan 
of the other, the Texan forces were scattered in 
small detachments all along the western frontier of 
Texas, when they should have been united, and this 
prevented them from effectively resisting the Mexi- 
cans when they returned. 



THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 115 

The situation at the beginning of the cam- 
paign. — When the campaign began F. W. Johnson 
and Dr. James Grant were at San Patricio with less 
than a liundred men ; Colonel James W. Fannin was 
at Goliad with between four and five hundred ; and 
Colonel William B. Travis was at the Alamo with 
a hundred and fifty brave spirits, among whom 
were such veterans as James Bowie and the famous 
Davy Crockett. Other forces were slowly prepar- 
ing to gather at Gonzales and march to the relief of 
Travis. Against San Patricio and Goliad General 
Urrea (U-ra'a) was advancing with about a thou- 
sand men from Matamoros, while Santa Anna him- 
self, with several thousand, was coming along the 
Old San Antonio Road to attack the Alamo. Let us 
first follow the story of the Alamo. 

Travis calls for reinforcements. — When Travis, 
by Governor Smith's order, assumed command of 
the Alamo early in February, 1836, a small garri- 
son was already there under the command of Lieu- 
tenant-colonel J. C. Neill. In fact it had been there 
ever since General Cos surrendered the place in 
December. Travis took thirty men with him, and 
on February 12 he wrote the governor that his force 
then consisted of a hundred and fifty men. In the 
same letter he said that several thousand Mexican 
soldiers had already reached the Rio Grande, and 
pointing out the fact that San Antonio would be 
the first place which they would attack, he urged 



116 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

the governor to send liim more men. "For God's 
sake and the sake of our country," he begged, "send 
us reinforcements." But he went on to say that 
he was determined to remain at his post as long as 
he had a man left, "because we consider death 
preferable to disgrace, which would be the result 
of giving up a post so dearly won." Day after day 
he wrote in the same strain, but the governor had 
no men to send. 

Thirty-two brave men from Gonzales. — On Febru- 
ary 23 Travis dashed off a hasty note to Andrew 
Ponton, the alcalde of Gonzales: "The enemy in 
large force is in sight. We want men and provisions. 
Send them to us. We have one hundred and fifty 
men and are determined to defend the Alamo to the 
last. Give us assistance." In answer to this appeal 
Captain Albert Martin and thirty-one other daunt- 
less citizens of Gonzales forced their way through 
the lines of tlie enemy before day on the morning 
of March 1, and raised Travis's strength to between 
a hundred and eighty and a hundred and ninety men. 

Travis asks Fannin to help. — Twice Travis sent 
to Fannin for aid, once about the middle of February 
and again after the arrival of the enemy. And on 
the 26th Fannin started with three hundred and 
twenty men to his relief, but circumstances pre- 
vented his going. First, some of his wagons broke 
down, which made it impossible to move the cannon, 
and then news arrived that General Urrea had 



THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 117 

destroyed the forces at San Patricio and was already 
on the way to Goliad. Fannin was not sure that he 
could reach San Antonio in time to help Travis, and, 
on the other hand, he knew that if he divided his 
forces Urrea would have no difficulty in taking 
Goliad and marching straight into the colonies. He 
therefore called a council of war and it was decided 
to return to Goliad and strengthen its fortifications 
for a resistance to the death. With all the facts 
before us, we now believe that it would have been 
better for him to continue his march to the relief of 
Travis, but we must not forget that he did what 
he thought was for the best interest of Texas. 

Travis's heroic letter of February 24. — On Febru- 
ary 24 Travis sent out a thrilling appeal to all the 
world. Professor Garrison thought it the most 
heroic document in American history and certainly 
it quickens the beat of every true Texan's heart 
to read it: 

COMMANDANCY OF THE AlAMO. 

Bejar, Feb'y 24th, 1836. 
To tlie Pcoph of Texas and all Americans in the World. 

Fellow Citizens and Compatriots : I am besieged, by a 
thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have 
sustained a continual bombardment and cannonade for 24 
hours and have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded a 
surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put 
to the sword, if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand 
with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly from the 
wdls. I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you 



118 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

in the name of Liberty, of patriotism and everything dear to 
the American character, to come to our aid with all dispatch. 
The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily and will no donbt 
increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this 
call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as 
possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due 
to his own honor and that of his country. Victory or Death, 
William Barrett Travis, Lt. Col. Comdt, 

P, S, The Lord is on our side. When the enemy appeared 
in sight we had not three bushels of corn. We have since 
found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels and got into the 
walls 20 or 30 head of beeves. Travis. 

The fall of the Alamo. — On March 3 Travis wrote: 
''A blood-red banner waves from the church at 
Bexar, and in the camp above us, in token that the 
war is one of ve-ngeance against rebels . . . Their 
threats have had no influence on me or my men, 
but to make all fight with desperation, and with 
that high-souled courage which characterizes the 
patriot who is willing to die in defense of his coun- 
try's liberty and his own honor." But the end 
was near. On the 4th Santa Anna held a council of 
war and decided to storm the fort on the 6th. Ac- 
cordingly, at dawn on Sunday, March 6, he gave the 
order to advance. The movement beg§,n in silence, 
but soon the bugles sounded "no quarter," and 
the assault was on. 

At that time the Alamo, with a considerable space 
in front and to each side, was enclosed by a strong 
wall, and the Texans at first tried to hold this wall, 



THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS 



119 



upon which their cannon were mounted. But their 
numbers were too small and the line too long. The 
Mexicans soon broke through, and then each little 
squad of Texans became engaged in a separate 
battle. Travis and Crockett each did the work of 
ten men alone, and Bowie, though confined to his 
cot by a recent injury, 
sold his life dearly. 
These facts we learn 
from Mexican officers 
who took part in the at- 
tack. But the odds were 
too great. In less than 
an hour all was over, 
and every defender of 
the Alamo lay dead. 
The wife of Lieutenant 
Dickinson and her baby 
girl, some Mexican 
women, and a negro be- 
longing to Travis were the alamo monument 
all who were spared. 

Santa Anna is thought to have lost in killed and 
wounded between five and six hundred men. The 
little band of Texans had given a good account of 
themselves. 

The Mexicans piled the bodies of Travis and his 
brave companions in heaps and burned them, but 




120 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

later the Texans gathered up their ashes and buried 
them with military honors. 

Some old errors. — Histories used to tell us how 
Travis, before the final assault began, drew with his 
sword a line on the floor of the Alamo and told all 
who were willing to die with him to cross it, while 
offering anyone who wished it permission to escape. 
The story went on to say that Bowie, who was unable 
to arise, asked that his couch he moved across the 
line. This certainly has a thrilling sound, but the 
truth is that it is extremely unlikely that anybody 
who was there escaped to tell the tale,^ so that we 
have no reliable means of knowing what happened. 
It used also to be said that Santa Anna had five or 
six thousand men in the attack on the Alamo, but 
we now believe that his numbers did not exceed 
three thousand. We do not need to exaggerate the 
odds to ensure the glory of Travis and his men, 
because in its barest outlines the true story of their 
heroic resistance is immortal. 

Results of the fall of the Alamo.— The fall of the 
Alamo had two important results. (1) It aroused 
the Texans to a vengeful fury, and strengthened 
their determination to fight Santa Anna to the last 
breath; and (2) it made Santa Anna over-confident 

^ Captain W. P. Ziiber, a prominent member of the Texas 
Veterans' Association, says that his mother nsed to tell him 
that a man named Eose came to her honse, and, telling her of 
Travis's speech, said that he took advantage of the permission 
to escape. But we must be very sure of our facts in history 
before accepting them, and in tliis case we cannot be certain 
that Rose was telling the truth. 



THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS 131 

of liis ability to crush the colonists. He became care- 
less, and this had a good deal to do with his com- 
plete undoing at San Jacinto. 

Houston plans to relieve Travis. — In the mean- 
time, as we have seen, the convention had met at 
Washington and declared Texas independent. Gen- 
eral Houston was a member of the convention, and 
on the 6tli of March was again elected commander- 
in-chief of the army. He at once set out for Gonzales 
to take command of the forces which were gathering 
there to go to the relief of Travis, but, alas, he was 
too late; for on the same day, though of course he 
did not know it, the Alamo was taken. In camp 
at Gonzales, which he reached on the 11th, he found 
three hundred and seventy-four men, and imme- 
diately began organizing a regiment. Edward 
Burleson was elected colonel and Alexander Somer- 
vell major. The rumor was spreading that the 
Alamo had fallen, and on the 13th Houston ordered 
his scouts out toward San Antonio to learn the 
truth. They had not far to go, for about twenty 
miles from Gonzales they met Mrs. Dickinson, whose 
husband had perished in the Alamo, and heard from 
her what had happened. She also told them that a 
division of the Mexican army under General Sesma 
was marching toward Gonzales. 

Gonzales is abandoned. — It would be hard to 
picture the grief and consternation which this news 
caused in Gonzales. Nearly every family in the 



122 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

town mourned the death of some loved one in the 
Alamo, and in the midst of their sorrow came the 
announcement that the Mexicans were approaching, 
that General Houston was going to retreat, and that 
they must abandon their homes and the improve- 
ments made by years of toil. No time was lost. 
General Houston gave his baggage wagons to the 
helpless people, and then, since that left him with- 
out means of transport, burned his surplus provi- 
sions and sank his cannon in the river to keep them 
from falling into the hands of the enemy. By mid- 
night Gonzales was deserted, and before morning it 
was burned to the ground, so that the Mexicans 
might find no comfort there. 

After .crossing the Colorado General Houston 
pitched camp on the east bank of the river, where 
he remained for nearly a week. Reinforcements 
began to join him in considerable numbers, and he 
determined to retreat no further, but to await the 
arrival of Santa Anna and give him battle. We 
shall leave him there while we go back and trace the 
history of Johnson and Grant and Fannin. 

The fate of Johnson and Grant. — After the cap- 
ture of San Antonio from General Cos in December, 
1835, F. W. Johnson and Dr. James Grant, with 
some volunteers, moved down to San Patricio, where 
they began to scour the country for horses, which 
they expected to use in an expedition against Mata- 
moros. For a time they were completely successful, 



THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS 123 

and captured a number of horses from the Mexican 
ranches south of San Patricio. Then they divided 
their party and became separated, Johnson remain- 
ing at San Patricio while Grant went as far as the 
Rio Grande in search of more liorses. While John- 
son's force was thus divided, General Urrea, who 
had advanced from Matamoros with nearly a thou- 
sand men, surprised him during the night of Feb- 
ruary 26, 1836. Johnson and four companions 
escaped, but all the others were either killed or 
captured. 

Urrea then learned of the movements of Grant, 
and marched southward to intercept him on his 
return to San Patricio. His plan succeeded, for on 
the 2d of March Grant unsuspectingly rode into an 
ambush prepared for him, and only two of his party 
escaped. Notice that the convention at Washington 
this same day declared Texas forever independent 
of Mexico, and that Travis in the Alamo was stiK 
sending out his appeals for help. 

Fannin at Fort Defiance. — While Johnson and 
Grant were at San Patricio Fannin had gone to 
Goliad and begun fortifying a position which he 
called Fort Defiance. His force consisted of more 
than four hundred volunteers from the United 
States who had come to assist Texas. Here on 
March 14 he received an order, which General Hous- 
ton had despatched from Gonzales during the night 
of the 11th, telling him to destroy his fortifications, 



124 A SCHOOL HISTOKY OF TEXAS 

SO that the enemy could not make use of them, and 
fall back to Victoria. Fannin waited five days, how- 
ever, before beginning to obey this order, and by 
that time General Urrea's troops had almost sur- 
rounded him. Some historians have blamed him 
severely for his delay in carrying out Houston's 
instructions, but before judging him we must know 
why he delayed. 

King and Ward at Refugio. — The reason was this. 
Several days before General Houston's order arrived 
Fannin had detailed a small company under Cap- 
tain King to protect the settlers at Eefugio. But 
when King reached Refugio he found it already 
occupied by some of Urrea's troops, and, taking 
refuge in the stone church, he sent to Fannin for 
reinforcements. Fannin despatched to his relief 
Major "Ward with a hundred and twenty men, and 
together they were able to drive the Mexicans away, 
but then they made a fatal mistake in not returning 
at once to Goliad. 

Ward took up his quarters in the church, wiiile 
King went out with part of the men to punish some 
Mexican ranchers in the neighborhood who had been 
unfriendly to the Americans. While he was away 
the Mexican troops returned to Refugio in greater 
force, and in trying to re-enter the town he was cut 
off and his whole party perished. Ward carried on 
a desperate battle from the church for several 
days, and then, when his ammunition was almost 



THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS 125 

exhausted, escaped and started for Victoria, where 
he now expected to find Fannin.^ Later we shall see 
what there befell him. 

In the meantime, after receiving Houston's order 
Fannin sent courier after courier to Ward and King 
commanding them to return immediately so that 
he could retreat to Victoria, but none of his mes- 
sengers ever came back. It was not until the 17th 
that he heard of the fate of King, and he waited yet 
another day in the hope that Ward might still be 
able to join him. You see, he did not want to 
abandon his men, because he knew very well what 
their end would be if they fell into the hands of 
the Mexicans. 

The Battle of the Coleto. — At last he could wait 
no longer. On the 18th Urrea's troops were all 
around him, and, to make his situation the more 
critical, five hundred men despatched by Santa 
Anna after the fall of the Alamo arrived at the 
same time. Fortunately the morning of March 19 
dawned in a heavy fog, and under its cover Colonel 
Fannin crossed the San Antonio River and began 
the retreat to Victoria. His force was now reduced 
to about three hundred, but he was well supplied 
with arms and ammunition and had nine cannon, so 

^ While in the churcli he had received a message from 
Fannin telling him of Houston's order and instructing him 
to retreat. 



126 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



tliat he felt fully able to take care of himself in 
case of a conflict. 

All went well until about three o'clock in the 
afternoon. Then, when they were about a mile and 
a half from Coleto creek, Urrea's cavalry blocked 
their way. They ought to have pressed on to the 
shelter of the timber along the creek, but an ammu- 
nition wagon broke down, 
and Fannin decided to 
halt in the open prairie 
and offer battle. The 
wagons were hastily 
drawn up in a circle, to 
form a breastwork, and 
the battle began. With 
awful fury it raged until 
dark. Time after time 
Urrea charged, only to be 
SANTA ANNA hudcd back with terrible 

loss. At first the Americans used their cannon with 
deadly effect, but when these became too hot to fire, 
their rifles were sufficient. At the close of the day, 
however, Fannin's situation was desperate. Seven 
of his men were dead and sixty wounded, forty of 
whom were disabled. Fannin himself was severely 
wounded in the thigh. 

The night was passed in cruel suffering. The 
wounded men moaned and cried in vain for water; 
while the uninjured ones toiled with pick and shovel 




THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS 127 

digging entrenchments, until they were exhausted, 
and then threw themselves on the ground only to 
find it too cold to sleep. By morning Urrea's force 
had increased to twelve or thirteen hundred, and 
the battle again commenced. The only hope for the 
Americans was to break through the enemy and 
reach the timber, but to do that they would have 
had to abandon their wounded. They preferred to 
surrender. 

Fannin's surrender. — A white flag was raised and 
Colonel Fannin went out Between the lines to meet 
the Mexican officers. Concerning what followed 
there are directly contradictory accounts. The 
Americans say that terms of surrender were agreed 
upon by which they were allowed to keep all their 
personal property, but were to lay down their arms 
and return to Goliad as prisoners of war. It was 
even understood by some that from Goliad they 
were to be sent back to the United States. In fact, 
one of the Mexican officers is said to have remarked 
in a cheery tone, "Well, gentlemen, in ten days 
liberty and home." But General Urrea and Santa 
Anna declared that Fannin surrendered uncondi- 
tionally — that is, that the Mexicans made him no 
promises. 

The truth about the capitulation. — A Spanish 
copy of the document which Fannin signed has 
recently been found in Mexico, and it seems to show 
that in a technical sense Santa Anna and Urrea 



138 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

were correct. The first article of this document 
declares that the Texans agreed to surrender uncon- 
ditionally, while the third says that they surrendered 
as prisoners of war subject to the disposition of 
the supreme government of Mexico. We may be 
sure that the Texans expected to be treated as civi- 
lized nations treat prisoners of war, but the first 
article gave Santa Anna an excuse a few days later 
for ordering the execution of the unfortunate men. 

Why Fannin surrendered at discretion. — It is easy 
to say that Colonel Fannin should not have accepted 
such terms. But a little reflection will convince us 
that there is more than one side to the question. 
There were three things that he could do: (1) he 
could fight his way out of the trap, but in so doing 
he knew that many more of his men would be lost, 
and that he would have to abandon those already 
wounded; (2) he could stay where he was, fighting 
until the end, but in that case every man would 
surely die; or (3) he could surrender, and perhaps 
save all of them. We may be certain that he weighed 
the matter well, and that he chose as he thought for 
the best interest of his men. 

The Goliad Massacre. — Upon their return to 
Goliad the men were imprisoned, and the physicians 
of the Texans began to attend to the wounded. 
Before they were allowed to treat their own coun- 
trymen, however, they were compelled to dress the 
wounds of the Mexicans. On the 25th Major Ward 



THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 



139 



and his men were brought in as prisoners. They 
had gone to Victoria two days after the surrender 
of Fannin at the Coleto, and finding it in possession 
of General Urrea, had fired their last round of 
ammunition and then surrendered. On the 27th all 
of the men who were able to walk, except about a 




Mission La Bahia at Goliad 



do^en, were divided into three squads and marched 
out of town under guard. Some were told that they 
were going to Copano; others that they were to help 
the soldiers slaughter beeves; but after marching 
for fifteen or twenty minutes in different directions 
they were halted, and at the word of command shot 
down by the soldiers in cold blood. Nearly all were 
killed at the first fire, and those who were not were 
chased like wild beasts and despatched with bayonet 
01 clubbed musket. Very few escaped. Afterward 



130 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

the wounded were dragged from their beds and shot. 
This horrible massacre occurred on the Sunday 
before Easter, exactly three weeks after the fall 
of the Alamo. The bodies were piled in heaps, brush 
was thrown ujDon them, and they were partially 
burned. Three months later the Texan army came 
that way and reverently buried the fragments that 
remained. 

Who was responsible for the Massacre? — Santa 
Anna alone was responsible for this barbarous 
crime. He ordered the commander at Goliad in the 
severest terms to execute the prisoners, and though 
that officer was horrified, he dared not disobey. One 
of the officers was bold enough, however, to save the 
physicians, and several men were spared through 
the pleading of a kind-hearted Mexican lady, Sehora 
Alvarez (San-yo'ra Al'va-ras). Do you wonder that 
the colonists hated the very name of Santa Anna? 
To the memory of the Alamo they now had added 
that of Goliad, and dearly were the Mexicans* to 
pay on the field of San Jacinto for Santa Anna's 
inhumanity. 

General Houston retreats to the Brazos. — We left 
General Houston encamped on the east bank of the 
Colorado, a short distance above Columbus. We 
must now return to him. On the 25th he heard 
authentically of Fannin's surrender and the next 
day, thinking that_his force was too small to risk 
a battle there, he gave the order to break camp and 



THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 131 

continue the retreat. On the 28th he reached San 
Felipe, on the Brazos, and after spending the night 
there and leaving Captain Mosely Baker's company 
to guard the crossing, he led the main army up the 
river to Groce's plantation, a few miles from the 
present town of Hempstead. He remained there 
nearly two weeks, drilling his men and preparing 
them to meet Santa Anna's regulars. While there 
he received two brass cannon, the "Twin Sisters," 
which the people of Cincinnati, Ohio, had sent to 
the Texans. 

The "Runaway Scrape." — You may perhaps be 
able to imagine in some degree the sorrow and con- 
sternation with which the people received the suc- 
cessive announcements of the fall of the Alamo, the 
retreat of General Houston, and the Goliad mas- 
sacre. They realized that the Mexicans were almost 
upon them, and helpless women and children began 
to flee for their lives. Homes were abandoned with 
all that they contained, and an endless procession 
of panic-stricken fugitives thronged the muddy 
roads that led to the east. Some did not stop until 
they crossed the Sabine and gained the protecting 
shelter of the United States. 

Old settlers afterwards named this the "runaway 
scrape." The following extracts are taken from an 
account of it by a lady who was then a little girl: 
"We left home at sunset, hauling clothes, bedding, 
and provisions on the sleigh with one yoke of oxen. 



132 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

Mother and I were M^alking, she with an infant in 
her arms. Brother drove tlie oxen, and my two 
little sisters rode in the sleigh . . . We camped the 
first night near Harrisburg . . . Next day we crossed 
Vince's Bridge and arrived at the San Jacinto in 
the night. There were fully five thousand people 
at the ferry . . . The horrors of crossing the Trinity 
are beyond my power to describe. One of my little 
sisters was very sick, and the ferryman said that 
those families that had sick children should cross 
first. When our party got to the boat the water 
broke over the banks above where we were and 
ran around us." This was one of the terrible 
experiences which early Texans never forgot. 

Santa Anna runs into a trap. — Santa Anna's 
success at the Alamo had made him overbold, and 
when he learned of Urrea's victory over Fannin 
and of General Houston's retreat, he thought that 
the war was over and that nothing was left to do 
but take possession of the country. Hastening from 
San Antonio, he reached San Felipe on April 7, but 
the town was in ashes. Captain Baker was on the 
opposite side of the river, blocking his passage, so 
he descended the river to a point midway between 
San Felipe and the present town of Richmond and 
there crossed, after a skirmish with Captain Wily 
Martin, who was guarding the ferry. From there, 
with only seven hundred and fifty men, he hurried 
straight on to Harrisburg, hoping to capture Presi- 



THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS 



133 



dent Burnet and the government. But he arrived 
a few hours too late; they had been warned of his 
coming and fled to Galveston Island. Santa Anna 
burned the town, and then pressed on down Buffalo 
Bayou and the San Jacinto River to New Washing- 




^f _. 

San'rj^-Uiii.-i'.s iiiurch to San Jacinti; 



General Houston's March to San Jacinto 

ton, at the head of Galveston Bay, He was now far 
away from his main army, with Houston on his 
heels. He was well within the trap. 

Houston follows Santa Anna to the San Jacinto. — 
On April 13 General Houston crosrsed the Brazos, 
and on the 18th arrived at the ruins of Harrisburg. 
There he left his baggage wagons and his sick, with 
seventy-five men to guard them, and hurried after 
Santa Anna. The two armies came together on the 
20th, just at the point where Buffalo Bayou and 

There was some skirmishing 



the San Jacinto meet. 



134 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

that day, but the Texans were exhausted by their 
rapid marching, and General Houston thought it 
best to postpone the decisive battle until the 
morrow. 

The Battle of San Jacinto. — The next morning 
Santa Anna was reinforced by General Cos with 
about five hundred men. This increased his force 
to between twelve and thirteen hundred, which 
turned the odds heavily against Houston. The 
Texans, however, were burning to avenge the death 
of their friends at the Alamo and at Goliad, and had 
no thought of drawing back. General Houston 
ordered Deaf Smith to take axes and men and 
destroy the bridge over Vince's Bayou, in order to 
delay the arrival of any other reinforcements that 
might be coming to Santa Anna. And at half past 
three in the afternoon he gave the command to 
advance. His men were eager to obey. They 
marched rapidly but in perfect silence until they 
were near the Mexicans, and then, shouting the 
battle cry, "Remember the Alamo!" they broke into 
the double-quick and rushed upon them, firing as 
they ran. 

The Mexicans were taken completely by surprise. 
Santa Anna and many of his men were asleep, some 
were cooking their dinner, and others were watering 
the horses. Almost before they could reach their 
guns the Texans were among them. After one futile 
effort to stand their ground they fled in panic, with 



THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 



135 



the Texans pursuing. According to General Hous- 
ton's report, the real battle was over in eighteen 
minutes, but the pursuit continued until nightfall. 

Travis and Fannin were avenged, for the Mexi- 
cans lost some six hundred dead, and seven hundred 




The Capture of Santa Anna 
(From a painting by "W. H. Huddle, in the Capitol at Austin) 



and thirty were prisoners. More than two hundred 
of the prisoners were wounded. The Texans had 
two killed and twenty-three wounded, but six of the 
wounded later died. General Houston himself had 
received a ball in the ankle. Such was the battle of 
San Jacinto, on the 21st of April, 1836. Santa Anna 
escaped from the battle, but was captured the next 
day. He had changed his splendid uniform for 



136 A SCHOOL HISTOKY OF TEXAS 

some cast-off clothes, and to this fact, no doubt, he 
owed his life. If his captors had recognized him, 
they would never have allowed him to surrender, 
but would have killed him on the spot. 

The Treaty of Velasco. — General Houston and 
Santa Anna immediately agreed to an armistice, 
according to which all fighting was to stop for the 
time and the Mexican troops were to retire to San 
Antonio and Victoria. On May 14 President Burnet 
and General Santa Anna signed the Treaty of 
Velasco. This provided: (1) that hostilities should 
cease and that the entire Mexican army should, as 
soon as possible, retreat beyond the Eio Grande; 
(2) that the Mexicans should restore or pay for all 
the private property which they had taken from the 
Texans; and (3) that Santa Anna should be released 
and sent back to Mexico, where he promised to use 
his utmost influence to persuade the Mexican gov- 
ernment to recognize the independence of Texas. 
This last article was kept secret for a while, but 
when it became known it caused the greatest dis- 
satisfaction among the soldiers, who thought that 
Santa Anna ought to be hanged for his crimes. 

In accordance with the treaty, General Filisola 
(Feel-e-soia), who succeeded Santa Anna as com- 
mander-in-chief of the Mexicans, led his army out 
of Texas, while the Texans followed at a short dis- 
tance to see that he did not loiter on the way. 
General Houston had gone to New Orleans after 



THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 137 

the battle of San Jacinto to have his wound treated, 
and the Texans were now commanded by General 
Rusk, the former secretary of war. 

The results of the Battle of San Jacinto. — As soon 
as the battle was over couriers set off at full speed 
to tell the good news to the hurrying throngs who 
were running away. They heard it with cries of 
joy, and immediately turned their faces homeward. 
The "runaway scrape" was ended. Mexico con- 
tinued to claim Texas and constantly threatened to 
invade and subdue it, but beyond some unimportant 
border raids in 1842 did nothing. This situation 
was unpleasant for the Texans, but not dangerous. 
Practically, therefore, the battle of San Jacinto 
established the independence of the Lone Star 
Republic. 

Help from the United States. — A history of the 
Texas revolution would be incomplete without some 
account of the assistance that came from the United 
States. As we saw, the consultation appointed 
Austin, William H. Wharton, and Dr. Archer to go 
there to solicit aid, and they found their task an 
easy one, because the people already felt the deepest 
sympathy for the Texans. Large sums of money 
were contributed or loaned, and supplies of food, 
clothing, arms and munitions were furnished, while 
hundreds of brave men volunteered their services 
in driving back the Mexicans. Several of the com- 
panies that assisted Milam in the capture of San 



138 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

Antonio in 1835 were from the United States. Many 
of the men who perished with Travis were from the 
United States, as were nearly all of those with John- 
son and Grant, and those who died with Fannin. 
Finally, during the summer of 1836, while Texas was 
exhausted by the war, General Gaines led a detach- 
ment of United States soldiers to Nacogdoches to 
prevent the Indians of East Texas from rising. 
Without this generous help the revolution could 
hardly have succeeded. 

Summary. — The general causes of the Texas 
revolution extended from 1825 to 1835, and were 
largely due to the fact that the Mexicans and the 
colonists distrusted each other, but it was Santa 
Anna who, by his tyrannical acts, brought about 
the revolution in 1835. Until the battle of Gonzales 
the people were undecided w^iether or not they 
should go to war, but that put an end to their uncer- 
tainty, and they marched against San Antonio and 
took it from General Cos in December. In the mean- 
time, the consultation had met and established a 
provisional government, consisting of a governor, 
a lieutenant-governor, and a general council. Soon 
the governor and the council became involved in a 
disastrous quarrel which ended their usefulness, and 
on March 1, 1836, the convention met. It declared 
Texas an independent republic, adopted a constitu- 
tion, and elected David G. Burnet temporary presi- 
dent of Texas. Meanwhile, Santa Anna h£,d been 



THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 139 

leading an army into Texas, and before the conven- 
tion adjourned he had captured the Alamo and put 
the garrison to the sword. Tliree weeks later Fan- 
nin's command was brutally slaughtered, and Gen- 
eral Houston retreated from the Colorado to the 
Brazos. These things made Santa Anna over-confi- 
dent, and he thrust himself into a trap by marching 
far to the eastward with only a small portion of 
his army. General Houston followed him, and the 
battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, practically 
established the independence of Texas. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What was the fundamental cause of the revolution? 

2. Give an account of the Fredonian rebellion. 

3. What attitude did most of the colonists take toward it? 
Why? 

4. What effect did it have on Mexican opinion of the 
colonists ? 

5. What was the object of President Guerrero's emancipa- 
tion proclamation in 1829 ? How did it affect the colonists ? 

6. What was the object of the law of April 6, 1830 ? Why 
did the colonists object to it ? Was it enforced ? 

7. What were the causes of the disturbances of 1832 ? 
Describe these disturbances. What reason did the colonists 
give for them ? Do you think that that was the real reason ? 

8. How did these disturbances affect Mexican opinion of 
the colonists ? 

9. • Describe the action of the convention of 1833. 

10. Why did the colonists desire separation from Coa- 



140 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

huila ? What did the Mexicans think was their real reason for 
desiring separation ? 

11. Give an account of Austin's imprisonment in Mexico. 
Was it just? How did it affect the Texans' opinion of the 
Mexican government? 

12. What acts of Santa Anna precipitated the revolution? 
Why did Travis attack the fort at Anahuac? Did all of the 
colonists want to go to war with Mexico in 1835? 

13. State the cause of the battle of Gonzales, and describe 
it. 

14. Describe Collinsworth's capture of Goliad. What was 
its importance? 

15. Describe the battle of Concepcion, the "Grass Fight," 
Milam's assault on San Antonio. Who commanded the Texans 
at San Antonio? The Mexicans? 

16. Describe the government of Texas during the revolu- 
tion. 

17. What were some of the bad effects of the quarrel 
between Governor Smith and the general council ? 

18. What was the date of the declaration of independence ? 
What reasons were assigned for declaring independence ? 

19. For what sort of government did the constitution pro- 
vide? 

20. What provision did the convention make for a tem- 
porary government ? 

21. What was the position of the Texas troops at the 
beginning of the campaign of 1836? 

22. Give an account of the fall of the Alamo. Why did 
Fannin not go to its relief ? Did any of its defenders escape ? 

23. Describe the scene at Gonzales when the news arrived 
of the fall of the Alamo. 

24. Why did General Houston retreat from Gonzales ? At 
what point on the Colorado did he stop ? 



THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 141 

25. Give an account of the destruction of Johnson and 
Grant's party. 

26. Why did Fannin delay his retreat from Goliad after 
receiving General Houston's command? 

27. Describe the battle of the Coleto. Did Fannin sur- 
render as a prisoner of war? Give the facts about his sur- 
render. Do you think that he should have surrendered? 

28. Describe the Goliad massacre. How did this massacre 
and the death of the Alamo defenders affect the Texans? 

29. Why did General Houston retreat from the Colorado 
to the Brazos? 

30. Why did Santa Anna leave his army so far behind in 
his march to San Jacinto ? 

31. Describe the "runaway scrape." 

32. Describe the battle of San Jacinto. 

33. State the terms of the treaty of Velasco. Did the Mex- 
ican army carry out the terms of the treaty ? 

34. What was the chief result of the battle of San Jacinto? 

35. Give an account of the assistance which the Texans 
received from the people of the United States. 

36. Trace on the map the march of General Houston and 
of Santa Anna from Gonzales to the field of San Jacinto. 

ADDITIONAL READING 

The Causes of the Eevolution : Davis, Under Six Flags, 
56-62. 

The Beginning of the Revolution : Bolton and Barker, With 
the Mal-ers of Texas, 159-167; Davis, 62-69. 

The Storming of San Antonio in 1835 : Bolton and Barker, 
168-169; Davis, 69-73. 

Ben Milam: Bolton and Barker, 156-158; Davis, 69-73. 

David Crockett : Bolton and Barker, 170-172 ; Littlejohn, 
"David Crockett" in Texas History Stories. 



142 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

The Alamo: Bolton and Barker, 176-182; Davis, 82-87; 
Littlejohn, "The Alamo" in Texas History Stories. 

The Goliad Massacre: Bolton and Barker, 183-186; Davis, 
77-81, 89-96 ; Littlejohn, "Eemember Goliad" in Texas History 
Stories. 

The "Eunaway Scrape" : Bolton and Barker, 202-212. 

The Battle of San Jacinto : Bolton and Barker, 187-201 ; 
Davis, 96-110; Littlejohn, "The Story of San Jacinto" in 
Texas History Stories. 




CHAPTER VII 

THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS, 1836-1846: THE AMERICANS IN 
POSSESSION 

1. HOME AFFAIRS 

The object of this chapter. — For nearly ten years 
after Santa Anna signed the treaty of Velasco and 
the remnants of the Mexican army retreated across 
the Rio Grande, Texas was an independent nation. 
Its people passed their own laws and elected their 
own officers to enforce them; they levied their own 
taxes and used the money derived from them as they 
thought best for the benefit of the country; they 
had their own army and navy and carried on diplo- 
matic relations with foreign countries; and no other 
government had any authority to interfere with 
them. In short, their position was the same as 
that of the Mexicans had been in 1821 when they 
freed themselves from Spain. It is the object of 
this chapter to trace the history of Texas during 
these ten years (from 1836 to 1846), and to show 
how at the end of that time the people voluntarily 
gave up their independence aud became a part of 
the United States. 

In doing this it will be convenient to consider 

143 




Sam Houston 



THE KEPUBLIC OF TEXAS I45 

the subject in two parts. The first part will deal 
with the home affairs of the republic: that is, with 
such matters as the return of the country to order 
after the confusion of the war, the establishment 
of the regular government, its financial difficulties, 
troubles with the Indians, the growth of population 
and wealth, the location of the capital at Austin, 
and the beginnings of our public school system. The 
second part will deal with the foreign affairs of 
the republic. 

1. The Restoration of Order 

The return home. — We have already seen that as 
soon as the battle of San Jacinto was won by our 
soldiers, messengers hurried after the fleeing fami- 
lies east of the Trinity to tell them that the danger 
was past, and that they might safely return to their 
homes. You can easily imagine the joy of the fugi- 
tives struggling through mud and water, as the 
courier galloj^ed up behind them shouting, "Turn 
back! The Texans have whipped the Mexican army 
and the Mexicans are prisoners! No danger! No 
danger! Turn back!" They did turn back, but sad- 
ness was yet in store for those who found their 
homes destroyed and their fields laid waste. Gon- 
zales, San Felipe, Harrisburg, and New Washing- 
ton had been burned to the ground, and many farm 
houses had suffered a similar fate. Fences were torn 
down, and the corn, which some of the settlers had 



146 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

planted before the "runaway scrape" began, had 
been ruined. 

The scene which met one little girl's eyes when 
she reached home is thus described: "The first 
thing we saw was the hogs running out. Father's 
bookcase lay on the ground broken open, his books, 
medicines, and other things scattered on the ground, 
and the hogs sleeping on them. ' ' On one plantation 
where there had been a comfortable dwelling, a 
sugar mill, cotton gin, blacksmith shop, grist mill, 
a number of negro cabins, and a stock of farming- 
tools everything was gone. But the people lost 
no time in useless grieving over their misfortunes. 
They went bravely to work planting new crops and 
building new homes, for they had come to this 
country to stay, and were not easily daunted by 
hardships. 

Santa Anna's imprisonment. — Following the bat- 
tle of San Jacinto all of the prisoners were taken 
to Galveston, but early in May President Burnet 
moved the government to Velasco and took with 
him General Santa Anna and a few of his officers. 
From here, on June 3d, Santa Anna was placed on 
board the Texan schooner of war "Invincible" to 
be taken to Vera Cruz, but before the vessel sailed 
a ship arrived from New Orleans with several hun- 
dred volunteers from the United States. These men 
thought that the Mexican president should be pun- 
ished for his crimes, and declared that President 



THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 147 

Burnet was making a mistake in letting him go. 
So strong was their opposition that the president 
could do nothing but order Santa Anna to be 
brought back, and from this time until early in 
October he passed under the control of the army. 
He complained bitterly that he was treated like 
an ordinary criminal, "being placed in a narrow 
prison, surrounded with sentinels, and suffering pri- 
vations which absolutely render life insupportable." 
But to this President Burnet replied that the Texans 
themselves had been deprived of many of the com- 
forts of life by Santa Anna's visit, and that for that 
reason they did not regret his having to share their 
privations. 

In fact President Burnet was very sorry that he 
could not carry out the treaty by sending Santa 
Anna home, for he knew that nations, as well as 
individuals, should always keep their word; but 
the truth is that the soldiers would not allow it. 
In August (1836) a young Mexican laid a plan to 
rescue the distinguished prisoner, but the Texans 
discovered it and placed Santa Anna in chains. 
From this time on his lot was a hard one, indeed, 
but in the fall he was released by General Houston, 
who had then become president, and after a visit 
to Washington to see President Jackson, he returned 
to Mexico in February, 1837. 

The other Mexican prisoners. — After the removal 
of President Burnet to Velasco with Santa Anna and 



148 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

a few of the highest Mexican officers, the other 
prisoners were kept for several months on Galveston 
Island. They were very far, however, from finding 
it the pleasant place that some of us now delight 
to visit. One of the officers who later wrote an 
account of his experiences said: "We had no whole- 
some water, nor the shelter of shade trees." The 
heat was intense, and, besides, "we had to contend 
with myriads of flies, mosquitoes, and sand-crabs, 
not to speak of continual storms and showers. Such 
were the swarms of mosquitoes, that it would seem 
that the whole species of the world had taken Gal- 
veston for a meeting place." From this disagree- 
able camp they were moved to Liberty, and in April, 
1837, just a year after the battle of San Jacinto, they 
were liberated, and returned to Mexico rejoicing. 

The Texan army. — When the battle of San Jacinto 
was fought the Texans had an army of less than a 
thousand men. But a great many were on the way 
to Texas from the United States, and when they 
arrived they went into the army, while the old 
settlers returned to their homes. In a short time 
there were nearly two thousand men in the ranks, 
and some of them were very troublesome charac- 
ters. As we have already seen, they interfered with 
President Burnet's plan to send Santa Anna home, 
in fulfillment of the treaty, and before very long 
it became a difficult matter to make them obey any 
orders that they did not like. General Rusk soon 



THE EEPUBLIC OF TEXAS 149 

asked to be relieved of their command, and when 
President Burnet appointed General Lamar to take 
Ms place the soldiers refused to accept him, and 
elected General Felix Huston. Perhaps the truth 
of the matter is that they were simply unaccus- 
tomed to military life, and did not realize the impor- 
tance of discipline. 

The end of the temporary government. — By the 
middle of the summer President Burnet thought 
that order had been sufficiently restored to enable 
the people to hold an election, and on July 23 he 
issued a proclamation, fixing the first Monday in 
September as election day. The people were asked 
to vote on three important questions. These were: 
(1) the adoption of the constitution which the con- 
vention had framed on March 17; (2) the election of 
a president, vice-president, and members of con- 
gress; and (3) whether Texas should remain inde- 
pendent or join the United States, in case the United 
States was willing to annex it. 

On the first question the people voted "yes," and 
at the same time they said that no changes should 
ever be made in the constitution except by a regular 
convention elected for that purpose. The second 
question required a great deal of thought, because 
there were three candidates for the office of presi- 
dent, and each was an able man who had done noble 
service to Texas. They were Stephen F. Austin, 
who was even then regarded as the Father of Texas; 



150 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

Henry Smith, who had been the provisional gov- 
ernor of the state during the first part of the revo- 
lution; and General Sam Houston. General Hous- 
ton was elected, and, as we shall presently see, the 
choice was a wise one. In answer to the third 
question the people said that they wanted to be 
annexed to the United States. 

On October 3 the first congress of Texas met at 
Columbia, and on the 22d President Burnet laid 
down the heavy cares of the temporary office and 
they were assumed in a constitutional way by Presi- 
dent Houston. 

2. The Regular Government of the Republic 

President Houston. — General Sam Houston, who 
became president of Texas in 1836, had a very 
remarkable career. He was born in Virginia in 
1793, but while he was still a young boy his father 
died and his mother moved to Tennessee. Here for 
a while he went to school, worked on a farm, and 
clerked in a store. Later he taught school for a 
short time, and many years afterward he is said 
to have told a friend that he derived greater satis- 
faction from the feeling of authority over his pupils 
which this position gave him than from any other 
office or honor that he ever held. In 1813, at the 
age of twenty, he joined the United States army 
and went to Alabama to fight the Creek Indians. 
Here, in the battle of the Horseshoe, he was so 



THE EEPUBIilC OF TEXAS 151 

seriously wounded by an arrow and several bullets 
that General Andrew Jackson ordered him to go to 
the rear. He pretended to obey, but later, when 
the stronghold of the Indians was stormed, he was 
the first man across the breastworks. 

He remained in the army till 1818, when he 
resigned and began the study of law. In 1823 
he was elected to Congress from Tennessee, and four 
years later he became governor of the state. From 
1829 until 1835 he lived much among the Indians, 
and was formally adopted by the Cherokees, who 
gave him the- name of the Raven. He visited Texas 
in 1833, and two years later, as we have seen, he 
was elected commander-in-chief of the Texan army. 
From 1836 to 1838 and again from 1841 to 1844 he 
was president of the Republic of Texas. From 1846 
to 1859 he represented Texas in the United States 
Senate, and from that time until the spring of 1861 
he was governor of the state. He died in 1863, and 
was buried at Huntsville, where his remains still 
rest. He was a man of wonderful ability, and Texas 
has had few such useful citizens. 

President Houston's first term (October, 1836- 
December, 1838).— AVhen General Houston became 
president, the condition of Texas was gloomy, 
indeed. On the south the Mexicans were threat- 
ening to send another army to compel the colo7aists 
to submit to the unjust rule of Mexico. On the 
north and west the Indians were restless and angry, 



152 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

because they believed that the Texans intended to 
seize their lands, and every day the danger of a 
savage uprising against the frontier settlements 
increased. From the United States a steady stream 
of men was pouring in to fight the Mexicans, and 
some of them were so turbulent and quarrelsome 
that they became a danger instead of a protection 
to the peaceful settlers. Finally, to make matters 
worse, the government had no money and was so 
deeply in debt that it could borrow none. 

A little later we must study with care President 
Houston's method of dealing with these and other 
important problems, but at present it is sufficient 
to know the general effects of his policy. He quickly 
came to the conclusion that Mexico was having too 
much trouble at home to do any real harm to Texas, 
and in this conclusion he was entirely correct. He 
reduced the army, therefore, and refused to let the 
Texans engage in broils with the Mexicans along the 
border. With the Indians, too, he followed a peace- 
ful policy, and by convincing them that the Texans 
would treat them fairly he prevented a cruel war. 
By reducing the army and enforcing the laws he 
checked the flood of undesirable volunteers from the 
United States. And to meet the financial difficulties 
of the country he practiced the strictest economy. 
He tried to keep the expenses from exceeding the 
receipts of the government. Though he did not quite 
succeed in this, he did leave the condition of the 



THE EEPUBLIC OF TEXAS 153 

country better in every way at the end of his term 
than it had been at the beginning. 

The death of Stephen F. Austin. — On December 
27, 1836, Colonel Stephen F. Austin died. He was 
still a young man — only forty-three — but the hard- 
ships that he had suffered in behalf of Texas had 
worn him out. He was born in Virginia in 1793, 
and was therefore of the same age as President 
Houston. He was educated at Transylvania Univer- 
sity, in Kentucky, and then moved to Missouri, 
which at that time was in the far western part of 
the United States. He served a term as a member 
of the legislature of Missouri, and later was ap- 
pointed by President Monroe to be a United States 
judge in Arkansas. When his father died in 1821 
he came to Texas, and for the remaining fifteen 
years of his life devoted himself entirely to the 
up-building of the country. 

The thousands of families that he brought to 
Texas between 1821 and 1835 looked upon him as 
their guardian and protector, and he accepted the 
.charge and spent his health and strength in serv- 
ing them. We have already learned of his imprison- 
ment in Mexico during 1834 and 1835, of his com- 
manding the army before San Antonio in the fall 
of 1835, and of his journey through the United 
States in 1836 to secure aid for Texas. When Gen- 
eral Houston became president he begged Austin 
to be his secretary of state, and, though he was ill 



154 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



at the time and did not want tlie office, he accepted 
it, because he thought that Texas still needed him. 
His death was due to pneumonia which was brought 
on by exposure to the cold while working in a 
shabby office that had no fire. 

President Houston issued a proclamation which 
began: "The father of Texas is no more. The first 

pioneer of the 
Wilderness has 
departed. Ste- 
phen F. Austin, 
secretary of 
State, expired 
this day, at half 
past twelve 
o'clock, at Co- 
lumbia." All the 
flags in the re- 
public were low- 
ered to half mast, and all the officers of the govern- 
ment were ordered to wear mourning for thirty 
days. He was buried in an humble grave at Peach 
Point, but seventy-four years later, in October, 1910, 
his remains were removed to Austin and reverently 
interred in the State Cemetery. He literally gave 
his life to the state, and his noble example will serve 
forever to inspire the gratitude and unselfish patriot- 
ism of every true Texan. 




Tomb of Stei=hen F. Austin, at Pbach 
Point, near Velasco 



THE EEPUBLIC OF TEXAS 155 

President Lamar's administration (December, 
1838-December, 1841). — The people were generally 
satisfied with President Houston's way of govern- 
ing Texas, but the constitution provided that no 
president should serve two terms in succession. In 
1838, therefore, it was necessary to elect some one 
else to the office, and the choice of the people fell 
upon the man who for the past two years had been 
serving as vice-president. This was Mirabeau B. 
Lamar.^ As president, it was his policy to make 
Texas a strong, independent nation. In trying to 
carry out this purpose he at first attempted to make 
peace with Mexico, but when that failed he no 
longer discouraged fighting along the border, which 
General Houston had made it a point to suppress. 
He sent an expedition to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 
the hope of extending over it the government of 
Texas, and this Mexico bitterly resented. In a later 
lesson we shall learn more of this expedition. He 
believed that fear of the Indians prevented many 
families from settling in western and northern 

^ Lamar was born in Georgia in 1798, but had lived a good 
part of his life in Alabama. He fought bravely in the battle of 
San Jacinto, and after it was over succeeded General Rusk as 
secretary of war. Following his two years as vice-president 
and three years as president, he retired to his farm, but when 
the Mexican war began in 1846 he joined the army. In 1857 
President Buchanan appointed him United States minister to 
Central America, but he resigned this office in 1859 and 
ret -;ned home, where he died in the same year. 



156 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

Texas, and thus delayed the development of the 
country. For this reason he waged war on the 
Indians, and drove the Cherokees entirely from the 
state. He was a firm believer in the importance of 
education, and by his advice congress set aside a 
great quantity of land in each county to be used 
for the establishment of public free schools. 

President Houston's second term (December, 
1841-December, 1844).— In the summer of 1841 
General Houston was again elected president by 
a large majority of the people, and when he entered 
office in December he lost no time in resuming the 
policy of his first administration. He tried to keep 
peace with Mexico, though this was somewhat diffi- 
cult now, on account of the irritation which the 
Mexicans had suffered from the Santa Fe expedi- 
tion. He made friendly treaties with the Indians, 
and stopped their ravages along the frontier. And 
by his old practice of strict economy he improved 
the financial condition of the country. 

President Jones's administration (December, 1844- 
February, 1846). — To succeed President Houston, 
Dr. Anson Jones was elected.^ When Dr. Jones 
became president, Texas was just on the point of 
being annexed to the United States, so that there 

^ Jones was born in Massachusetts in 1798, and was the 
same age as President Lamar. In 1833 he came to Texas and 
took np the practice of medicine at Brazoria. AVhen the revo- 
lution began, he Joined the army as a private and fought in the 



THE EEPUBLIC OF TEXAS I57 

was little for him to do. He had great ability, 
however, and under more difficult conditions would 
no doubt have made Texas an excellent officer. In 
February, 1846, the last act in the annexation of 
Texas to the United States was completed, and he 
surrendered the government to J. Pinckney Hender- 
son, the first governor of the new State of Texas. 

3. The Financial Affairs of the Republic 

Financial conditions at the close of 1836. — It costs 
a great deal of money to carry on a government at 
any time, and the expense is much increased when 
the country is at war. The Texans learned this 
during the revolution. The soldiers had to be paid, 
and food and ,clothing had to be provided for them. 
Guns, cannon, and ammunition had to be bought. 
Warships had to be paid for, and sailors had to 
be hired to sail them. When the war was over the 
Texans found that they were a million and a quarter 
dollars in debt. 

Why the government needed money. — If the 
Texans could have been sure that the Mexicans 
would not come back, they could have saved a 
great deal by dismissing their army and navy. But, 
as we have alreadj^ seen, the Mexicans kept threat- 
ening to come back. Furthermore, a considerable 

battle of San Jacinto. After the independence of Texas was 
established he entered politics and held several high offices in 
the republic before he was chosen president. He died at 
Houston in 1857. 



158 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

army was needed to guard the settlers from the 
Indians. And, besides the soldiers and sailors, there 
were a great many men (as there are in all coun- 
tries) engaged in making laws and carrying them 
out. All of these had to be paid, and at the begin- 
ning the salaries of the higher officers were rather 
large. The salary of the president, for example, was 
ten thousand dollars a year. Finally, in addition to 
these regular, every-day expenses, the government 
had to make provision for paying its debt. 

How the government tried to raise money. — There 
were five important ways in which the government 
tried to get enough money for its needs. In the 
first place, it offered for sale a quantity of the 
public land. In the second place, it levied various 
sorts of taxes on the people. In the third place, it 
declared that anybody who brought goods to Texas 
from foreign countries must pay to the government 
a fee called a customs duty. In the fourth place, it 
tried to borrow money. And, finally, it issued paper 
money. 

Why the government failed to raise enough 
money. — At the same time that the government 
was offering its land for sale it was giving away 
free six hundred and forty acres to every married 
man and half that quantity to every single man who 
would settle in Texas. Naturally, nobody would 
buy, when, by merely coming to Texas to live, he 
could get for nothing more land than he could use. 



THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 159 

The taxes and customs duties did not bring in 
enough; and capitalists would not lend money to 
the government, because they feared that it could 
not pay them back. It was for these reasons that 
the government made the mistake of issuing paper 
monej^ It would have been much better otf if it 
had never done so. 

Paper money. — This paper money was in bills of 
different value, just as our bank-notes are to-day, 
and it looked very much like our bank-notes. On 
each bill there was printed a statement that the 
government would, at a certain time, pay the owner 
of the bill its full value in gold or silver. Thus, if 
the bill was for live dollars, the government prom- 
ised to pay that amount. Now, at the beginning, 
men believed that the government would some day 
be able to keep its promise and pay the bills, so 
they accepted them at full value. But later, as 
more and more bills were issued, they lost confi- 
dence in the government. At first they would agree 
to accept a dollar bill for ninety cents, then for 
seventy-five cents, and finally some of the bills sank 
as low as two ,cents on the dollar. One reason 
why the government got no money from its taxes 
was because the people paid them in this worthless 
paper. 

Financial conditions at the close of the republic. — 
In spite of all that President Houston could do dur- 
ing his second term, the government owed nearly 



160 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

twelve million dollars when Texas was admitted 
to the United States. Much of this was for the 
paper money that had been issued. The debt was 
finally paid, as we shall see, at the rate of a little 
more than seventy-five cents on the dollar. 

4. Indian Troubles 

The Indians during the Texas revolution. — When 
the war with Mexico began in 1835 there were 
between twelve and fifteen thousand Indians in 
Texas. They were divided into various tribes, and 
some of the tribes were hostile to each other and 
friendly to the Texan s. The two most important 
tribes were the Cherokees and the Comanches. Dur- 
ing the revolution it was feared for a time that the 
Cherokees, who lived near Nacogdoches, might join 
the Mexicans; but General Houston and Colonel 
John Forbes succeeded in arranging a treaty with 
them in which they agreed to remain quiet. 

President Houston's Indian policy. — General 
Houston thoroughly understood the Indians, and 
had many friends among the Cherokees and other 
tribes. When he became president, therefore, he 
de,clared that the best way to get along with the 
Indians was to treat them well, and that he intended 
to do this. He said that they were to be allowed 
to keep the lands on which they were living, and 
stores were to be established on the frontiers at 
which the Indians could trade without coming into 



THE EEPUBLIC OF TEXAS 161 

the settlements. At the same time he was too wise 
to think that all the Indians would behave them- 
selves, and, to guard against the bad Indians, he 
kept up the force of Texas rangers, and advised the 
building of blockhouses on the frontier. The rang- 
ers were experienced Indian fighters who had first 
been used during the revolution to protect the set- 
tlements while the other men were fighting Santa 
Anna. From December, 1836, until December, 1838, 
while General Houston was president, there were 
a few difficulties with the Indians. Some cattle and 
horses were stolen, and now and then some lonely 
settler was killed. But there was no serious trouble. 
President Lamar's Indian policy. — President 
Lamar, as we have seen, was in office from Decem- 
ber, 1838, until December, 1841. His Indian policy 
was almost directly opposite to that of General 
Houston. He had had trouble with the Indians in 
Georgia, before coming to Texas; and he honestly 
believed that there were no good Indians. He had 
no patience with the mild methods of President 
Houston, and thought that the only way to deal 
with the Indians was either to drive them out of 
Texas or to exterminate them. A good many people 
still believe that President Lamar was right in his 
opinion of Indian character, but many now agree 
with the opinion of General Houston. As might 
have been expected, when the Indians learned of 
President Lamar's intentions, they became alarmed 



162 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



and tried to save themselves by attacking the set- 
tlers first. They became so dangerous that settlers 
on the western border had to work their fields 
together in bands of six or eight, some of them 
guarding while others plowed or hoed. 

The removal of the Cherokees. — Some of the 
trouble was stirred up by the Mexican general at 
Mataraoros, who sent agents to 
persuade the Indians to rise 
against the Texans. One of these 
agents, named Manuel Flores, 
was traveling from Matamoros to 
Nacogdoches with a band of war- 
riors in the spring of 1839, when 
he was overtaken by General Ed- 
ward Burleson near the present 
city of Austin. A battle followed 
in which Flores was killed, and 
from the papers found on his 
body it was learned that he and 
a Mexican named Cordova had 
been trying to get the Cherokees 
to rise. This probably convinced 
President Lamar that the Cherokees must be re- 
moved from East Texas. He was willing to pay 
them for their farms and houses; but when they 
refused to sell, war was waged against them, and in 
the summer of 1839 they were driven across the Red 
Eiver. 




A Comanche Cradle 



THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 163 

War with the Comanches. — Two important bat- 
tles were fought witli the Comanches in 1840. The 
first of these occurred at San Antonio in Mar.ch. 
The Comanches had declared that they wanted to 
make peace with the whites, and it was agreed that 
the chiefs should meet at San Antonio to sign the 
peace and deliver all their white prisoners. When 
they arrived they had with them only one prisoner, 
a girl named Matilda Lockhart. The Texans knew 
that there were other prisoners, and determined to 
capture the chiefs and hold them until the white 
captives were brought in. A band of soldiers was 
therefore marched into the council room and the 
chiefs were told that they were under arrest. They 
immediately began to fight, and in a short time all 
were killed. In the meantime, the Indians on the 
outside of the house had begun to fight, and soon 
they too were dead. A few squaws carried the news 
to the tribe, and before long several other prisoners 
were brought in, and the treaty was signed. This 
battle is called the "Council House Fight." 

The other battle that occurred in 1840 was at 
Plum Creek, in what is now Caldwell county, 
between Lockhart and Gonzales. The Comanches 
and some of their allies made a raid on Victoria, 
stole several thousand head of cattle, and plundered 
and burned to their hearts' content. Then they 
started home to the mountains west of Austin. On 
the way they were overtaken on Plum Creek and 



164 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

nearly a hundred were killed. A little later Colonel 
Jolm Moore led nearly a hundred men to the 
Comanche village, and in a desperate battle a hun- 
dred and twenty-eight Indians were killed and 
thirty-two were captured. 

President Houston establishes peace. — No further 
trouble occurred during President Lamar's term of 
office, and when General Houston became president 
again in De,cember, 1841, he began to make peace 
with the Indians. He built his trading posts along 
the frontier, and by 1843 most of the tribes had 
made peace and agreed to leave the settlers alone. 
They did not always keep their word, it is true, 
but they were never again so troublesome as they 
had been during President Lamar's administration. 

Importance of the Indian troubles. — These Indian 
wars were important for two reasons. In the first 
place, it cost the country a great deal of money to 
carry them on. This is one reason why our public 
debt increased so rapidly during President Lamar's 
administration. In the second place, they delayed 
the settlement of the western and northern parts of 
the country, and thus prevented the early develop- 
ment of the most fertile regions in Texas. 

5. Growth of Population and Wealth 

Why settlers came to Texas. — In spite of the 
threats of the Mexicans and the outrages of the 
Indians, thousands of families came to Texas be- 



THE EEPUBLIC OF TEXAS 165 

tween 1836 and 1846. A good many came from 
Germany and a few from England and France, but 
by far the most of them were from the United 
States. The Germans came mainly because they 
were tired of being ruled as they were at home, by 
kings and prin,ces and dukes, and wished to live 
in a democratic country, where all men were polit- 
ically equal. The majority of them settled in south 
Texas, and their grand-children still live there, and 
speak the German language, in such towns as York- 
town, New Braunfels, and Fredericksburg. 

Settlers from the United States generally came 
for two main reasons. In the first place, there were 
very hard times in the United States between 1837 
and 1841, so that many men failed in business, or 
found it difficult to make both ends meet. They 
thought that they would have a better chance in 
a new country. In the second place, Texas con- 
tinued the practice which had been begun during 
the revolution of giving to every settler a quantity 
of land. When we remember that some of this 
land was as ri,ch as could be found anywhere else 
in the world we can easily see what a great induce- 
ment it offered to ambitious immigrants. 

The number of those who came. — In giving the 
number of those who came to Texas during these 
ten years we cannot be very exact. The govern- 
ment now takes a census every ten years, and we 
know with a good deal of accuracy the population 



166 A SCHOOL HISTOKY OF TEXAS 

of every town, county, and state, but no census was 
taken in Texas until 1846. We are pretty certain, 
however, that there were not more than thirty thou- 
sand white persons in Texas in 1836, and we are 
almost as sure that there were about a hundred 
thousand in 1846. This makes an average increase 
of about seven thousand a year. A Texas news- 
paper printed this paragraph in December, 1839: 

"Formerly the cry in the United States was 
'Westward Ho!' Now the tide has somewhat 
changed. ' Texas Ho ! ' is the cry. Steamboats, ships, 
and wagons come ,crowded with settlers for the 
young and growing Republic." 

Where they settled. — In the early days of the 
republic most of the immigrants settled in the older 
sections of the country, south of the Old San 
Antonio Road (see map, page 28), but before long 
they began to push out to the west. The capital 
of the republic was moved from Houston to Austin 
in the fall of 1839, and this was a great encourage- 
ment to the frontiersmen to establish their homes 
in the west. It seemed to indicate that the govern- 
ment was going to do all that it could to help 
them drive back the Indians and cultivate the wil- 
derness. By 1840 settlements were begun in north 
Texas, and when Texas became a state in 1846 set- 
tlements extended from the coast as far west as 
Waco and Fort Worth, and from the Red River 
to the Nueces 



THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 167 

The homestead law. — During President Lamar's 
administration (January 26, 1839) the famous 
"homestead law" of Texas was passed, and this 
may have had something to do with bringing set- 
tlers to Texas. Its object was to protect from 
suffering and want the wife and children of a man 
who could not pay his debts. In the United States 
at that time a man's creditors could sue him in 
court, and take everything that he possessed, leav- 
ing him neither a home for his family nor tools with 
which to work for them. But this law provided 
that in Texas the homestead could not be taken from 
the head of a family. With the homestead, he was 
allowed to keep his furniture and tools, and, if he 
had them, he could keep five cows, a yoke of oxen, a 
horse, twenty hogs, and provisions for one year. It 
was soon seen that this was a wise and just law, and 
to-day nearly every state in the union has a simi- 
lar one. 

Beginning of the public school system. — As more 
and more people came to Texas the question of 
educating the children became important. One of 
the reasons which the colonists gave for declaring 
independence from Mexico was that the Mexicans 
had failed to establish public schools in Texas. 
President Lamar realized more clearly thai]L,.most 
people that the citizens of a republic must be well 
educated in order to govern themselves, and it was 
during his administration that the first steps were 



168 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

taken to provide for public schools. A law passed 
in 1839 gave to each county nearly fifteen thousand 
acres of land to be used in establishing public free 
schools. Another law set aside about a quarter of 
a million acres for the purpose of establishing two 
universities. It was a long time before the schools 
went into operation, but this is the beginning of our 
present free school system, and of the University 
of Texas. 

The increase of wealth. — Although the govern- 
ment was deeply in debt in 1846, the people were 
fairly prosperous. Their lands had increased in 
value, their cotton crops were heavy, trade with the 
United States was profitable, and they had large 
herds of cattle and horses. Even the government 
was beginning to spend less than it took in each 
year, and there was reason to hope that it would 
gradually become able to pay its creditors. 

Summary. — Following the battle of San Jacinto 
the settlers returned to their homes and hastened to 
repair the damage inflicted by the Mexicans. Dur- 
ing the summer of 1836 they voted to approve the 
constitution which the convention had adopted in 
March of that year, and at the same time they 
elected General Houston president of the republic. 
He made an excellent president, but the constitution 
declared that no one could hold the office two terms 
in succession, so that he was followed by President 
Lamar, Houston was again elected in 1841, and 



THE EEPUBLIC OF TEXAS 169 

when his second term was ended he was succeeded 
by Dr. Anson Jones. The financial affairs of the 
government were in very bad condition during the 
whole ten years of the republic, but there were 
signs of improvement toward the end of the period. 
The Indians caused the government much trouble 
and expense, especially during President Lamar's 
administration, but about 1843 President Houston 
succeeded in quieting them, and from that time 
until 1846 they gave very little trouble. In spite of 
hard times and danger from the Indians, the popu- 
lation rapidly increased, and the capital was moved 
to Austin partly to keep up with its westward 
spread. Provision was made for public free schools, 
and the people were generally prosperous. 

2. FOREIGN AFFAIRS 
1. Relations with European Countries 

Recognition of Texan independence. — The United 
States government recognized the independence of 
Texas in March, 1837. In substance this was the 
same as saying that the United States did not 
believe that Mexico could ever conquer Texas, and 
you can easily imagine how much it encouraged 
the Texans. The European countries were slower 
in making up their minds than was the United 
States, but before the end of 1840 Belgium, the 
Kingdom of the Netherlands, France, and England 



170 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

had declared their faith in the new republic by 
recognizing its independence. 

English interest in Texas. — At first England was 
unwilling to recognize the independence of Texas, 
because many Englishmen had lent money to Mex- 
ico, and it was feared that if Mexico lost Texas it 
would never be able to pay these debts. Later, how- 
ever, after it had recognized Texas, there was a 
good deal of talk about getting Texas to join Eng- 
land and become a part of the British Empire. Eng- 
land had two important reasons for wanting to con- 
trol Texas. In the first place, England carried on 
a great business in the manufacture of cotton cloth, 
but it owned no province where cotton could be 
raised in abundance, so that it had to buy most of 
its cotton from the United States. Tlie business 
would be much more profitable if England could 
raise its own cotton; and this it could easily do, if 
it could only get possession of Texas. In the second 
place, England had been for many years very much 
opposed to the slavery of the African race. It had 
freed all the slaves in its own territories and now 
it was trying to get other countries to free their 
slaves. If it could get possession of Texas, it could 
not only free the slaves there, but might also bring 
about slowly the abolition of slavery in the southern 
part of the United States. Fortunately the United 
States annexed Texas before England took any defi- 
nite steps to get possession of it. 



THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 172 

2. Relations with Mexico 

Mexico's refusal to give up Texas. — As we saw, 
the Mexican congress refused to accept the treaty 
of Vela^co, saying that Santa Anna had no right to 
sign it, because he was a prisoner. It was deter- 
mined to send another army to reduce the rebellious 
Texans, and teach them a lesson; but it was a long 
time before Mexican soldiers again crossed the Rio 
Grande. 

Why Mexico did not invade Texas. — The reason 
why Mexico was so slow to make another invasion 
was that the government was on the verge of being 
overthrown by the Liberal party at home. These 
Liberals were dissatisfied with the undemocratic 
government that Santa Anna had established, just 
as the Texans had been, and for years they never 
ceased in their efforts to tear it down. Naturally, 
the government had no time to interfere with far- 
off Texas, when it was fighting for its very life at 
home. President Houston was wise enough to real- 
ize the situation, and to see that Texas was per- 
fectly safe. He gave strict orders that the Texans 
along the border should not fight the Mexicans, 
except in self-defense, and for this reason the coun- 
try had peace during his administration. 

The Republic of the Rio Grande. — President 
Lamar was not so cautions as General Houston, 
and when some of the Mexican Liberals came to 
Texas to get help in carrying on war against the 



173 A SCHOOL HISTOKY OF TEXAS 

government lie made no effort to prevent the Texans 
from joining them. Several hundred men under 
Colonel Reuben Ross and Colonel S. W. Jordan 
joined General Canales (Ca-nares), and tried to 
establish a republic in the northern part of Mex- 
ico. They called it the Republic of the Rio Grande, 
because all the states to be included in it bordered 
on that river. A number of severe battles were 
fought along the river, and at one time the Texans 
went as far south as Saltillo, where they narrowly 
escaped capture, because their allies betrayed them. 
This trouble lasted from September, 1839, until 
the end of 1840, and its only result was to stir up 
the Mexican government and strengthen its deter- 
mination to conquer Texas as soon as it could get 
the time. 

The Santa Fe expedition. — Mexico was still fur- 
ther irritated by the Santa Fe expedition. The first 
congress of Texas had passed a law declaring that 
the Rio Grande from its mouth to its source should 
be the boundary of the state on the south and west. 
This threw a large part of the present state of New 
Mexico within the limits of Texas, and Santa Fe 
was the principal city of this region. It was inhab- 
ited entirely by Mexicans, and the Texans had made 
no effort to take possession of it. There had been 
a very profitable trade carried on for years between 
Santa Fe and the city of St, Louis, in Missouri; and 
President Lamar came to tlie conclusion tliat it was 



THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 173 

time for Texas to take Santa Fe and turn the profits 
of this trade into Texas. He asked congress for 
an appropriation to pay the expenses of an expedi- 
tion, but congress refused; so he assumed entire 
responsibility for it, and sent it himself, ordering 
the treasurer of the republic to pay the bills as they 
were presented. 

The expedition was composed of two hundred and 
seventy soldiers and about fifty merchants and 
others. They were to invite the people of Santa 
Fe to renounce the authority of Mexico and join 
Texas. But if they did not wish to do this, the 
soldiers were strictly forbidden to use force. The 
merchants were merely to try to establish trade 
with the country, and then return. The expedition 
left Brushy Creek, near Austin, in June of 1841; 
and it suffered great hardships almost from the 
beginning. On the plains of western Texas the 
guides lost their way. Food gave out, there was 
no water, and the Indians were hostile and trouble- 
some. So hungry did the men become that they 
were reduced to eating prairie dogs and snakes. 
There was not even pasture for the horses, and they, 
like the men, were exhausted by hunger and thirst. 
When they finally reached New Mexico, they were 
arrested by the governor, Manuel Armijo (Man-wel' 
Ar-me'ho). He tied them together in bands of five 
or six and marched them to the City of Mexico on 
foot. They were very harshly treated, and after 



174 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

their arrival in Mexico were separated, and placed 
in different prisons. Later they were released by 
the order of Santa Anna, who had again become 
president of Mexico. 

The results of the expedition. — President Lamar 
made a great mistake in sending out the expedi- 
tion. It cost the country a great deal of money, 
which it could ill afford to spend; many of the 
men died on the way, or suffered untold torture 
from their captors; and Mexico was angered and 
driven to make an invasion of Texas, 

The Mexican invasion of March, 1842. — In March, 
1842, a Mexican force under General Eafael Vas- 
quez (Ra-fi'el Vas'kas) suddenly appeared in San 
Antonio and took possession of the town. The 
Mexican flag was run up, but two days later the 
Mexicans retreated, and left the town at peace. At 
the same time other forces seized Goliad and Refu- 
gio, but they, too, soon retired. 

The "Archive War." — The sudden appearance of 
the Mexicans alarmed the Texans, and President 
Houston ordered the removal of the government to 
Houston, fearing that the Mexicans might ,capture 
the capitol at Austin. The people of Austin were 
very angry over this, as you can easily imagine. 
They refused to allow the government documents, 
the archives, to be moved; and when President 
Houston tried to have them secretly taken to Wash- 
ington on the Brazos, they resisted with arms, and 



THE EEPUBLIC OF TEXAS 175 

caused them to be returned to Austin. This has 
been called the '' Archive War." It occurred in 
December, 1842. 

General Woirs invasion of San Antonio. — In the 
meantime, another Mexican army, commanded by 
General Adrian Woll, captured San Antonio in Sep- 
tember, 1842. This time the town made some resist- 
ance, and a number of Mexicans were killed. Sev- 
eral companies of Texans left Gonzales, under the 
command of Colonel Matthew Caldwell, to go to the 
relief of San Antonio; and General Woll met them 
at Salado Creek, about six miles east of the town. 
A considerable number of the Mexicans were killed 
and wounded in the battle which followed. But, 
at the same time, a company of fifty-three men under 
Captain Nicholas Dawson, which was coming to 
join Caldwell's force, was cut off by the Mexicans 
and all of the men were either killed or captured. 
After this engagement. General Woll abandoned 
San Antonio and returned to Mexico, taking with 
him sixty- seven prisoners. 

The Mier expedition. — By the middle of October, 
1842, more than a thousand Texans had gathered 
at San Antonio eager to invade Mexico. President 
Houston did not favor war with Mexico at this time, 
])ut he ordered General Alexander Somervell to take 
command of the men. He led them first to Laredo, 
where several hundred of the men left him and 
returned to the settlements. Somervell then started 















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THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 177 

down the Rio Grande, but a short time later decided 
to give up the expedition and go back home. All 
but three hundred of the volunteers went with him. 
Those who remained elected Colonel William S. 
Fisher to lead them and marched against Mier. 
They entered the town on Christmas day, and a des- 
perate battle was waged all night, and well into 
the next day. On the 26th General Ampudia (Am- 
poo'di-a) raised a white flag, and told the Texans 
that he had a large force surrounding the town and 
that it was useless for them to fight longer. He 
said that if they would surrender, they should be 
kindly treated. Many of the Texans were opposed 
to yielding, but Colonel Fisher favored surrender- 
ing, because he thought it would be impossible 
to escape without abandoning the wounded. They 
accordingly surrendered. 

Drawing the black beans. — The prisoners were 
first taken to Matamoros, and then were started on 
foot to the City of Mexico. At Salado, about a hun- 
dred miles south of Saltillo, they made a break for 
liberty and escaped. Led by Captain Cameron, they 
started toward Texas, but after going along the 
road for a short distance they turned aside to hide 
in the mountains. Here they became lost, and, 
almost dying of hunger and thirst, they were all 
eventually recaptured. Santa Anna decreed that, 
to punish them for their escape, every tenth man 
should be shot. A hundred and seventy- six men 



178 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

made the break for liberty, and, to decide wliicli of 
them should be executed, a hundred and fifty-nine 
white and seventeen black beans were placed in a 
jar, and each man was made to draw a bean. Those 
who drew the black beans were blindfolded, seated 
on a log, and shot to death by the soldiers. The 
remaining prisoners were hurried on to the capital, 
and from there distributed to various prisons. Most 
of them were lodged in Castle Perote (Pa-ro'ta), 
a very strong and very uncomfortable prison. In 
July of 1843 General Thomas J. Green and seven 
others made a daring escape from here, but the 
remaining captives suffered imprisonment for more 
than a year longer. Then, on September 16, 1844, 
the independence day of Mexico, Santa Anna gave 
orders to release them. 

The Snively expedition. — During the spring of 
1843, while the Mier prisoners were wearily trudg- 
ing toward the City of Mexico, another band of 
Texans, commanded by Colonel Jacob Snively, was 
marching light-heartedly toward the north to cap- 
ture a great wagon train which was on the way from 
St. Louis, Missouri, to Santa Fe, loaded with valu- 
able merchandise. But the wagons were accompa- 
nied by a number of United States soldiers, who 
disarmed the Texans, and sent them home. They 
really had no right to do this, and some years later 
the United States government paid Texas for the 



THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 



179 



guns that were taken. But the Santa Fe caravan 
escaped, and the Snively ex])edition was a failure. 

The end of the war with Mexico. — In June, 1843, 
just about the time that Colonel Snively was hav- 
ing his unpleasant experience in northern Texas, 
President Houston received a proposal for peace 
from Santa Anna. He immediately issued a procla- 
mation, ordering all hostilities to cease, and ap- 
pointed commissioners to go to Mexico and nego- 
tiate a treaty. 
They found that 
Santa Anna did 
not want peace 
unless Texas 
would again con- 
sent to be a part 
of Mexico, and 
so, of course, 
they refused to 

sign the treaty. The negotiations occupied the two 
countries for nearly a j^ear, however, and soon after 
they were over Texas was annexed to the United 
States. There was no more fighting while Texas 
remained an independent country. 

The Texas navy. — During all of our trouble with 
Mexico the little navy of Texas did good service in 
guarding the coast, and preventing invasion by 
sea. The first vessels were bought for the navy in 
January and February, 1836. They were the "Lib- 




TiiE Palace of Chapultefec. City of Mexico 
(The Mexican White House) 



180 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

erty," "Invincible," "Independence," and "Bru- 
tus." They captured several vessels and caused a 
good deal of alarm to the Mexican towns situated 
on the coast of the Gulf; but by the end of 1837 
they were all gone. One was sold, another was 
captured, and two were wrecked. 

But in 1839 a second navy was bought. This con- 
sisted of seven vessels, the most important of which 
was the "Austin," armed with twenty cannon. 
President Lamar kept the navy sailing from place 
to place, trying to frighten and annoy the Mexicans. 
On one occasion, during 1840, he lent it to the people 
of Yucatan, who were carrying on war with Mexico. 
When General Houston became president the second 
time, however, he thought that it cost too much to 
keep up the navy. In January, 1843, he had con- 
gress secretly pass a law ordering the vessels sold, 
but Commodore E. W. Moore, who was command- 
ing the fleet, refused to bring the vessels into Texas 
harbors, and thus prevented the sale. The next 
year .congress repealed the law ordering the sale, 
and when Texas joined the United States in 1846 
it still had four ships. These were transferred to 
the United States navy. 

3. Relations with the United States 

Texas asks to be annexed. — As we learned in a 
previous lesson, one of the questions upon which 
the Texans voted in the election of 1836 was whether 



THE EEPUBLIC OF TEXAS 183 

or not they wished to be annexed to the United 
States. Only ninety-one voted "no." As soon, 
therefore, as the United States recognized the inde- 
pendence of Texas, we asked to be annexed. But the 
United States was not yet ready to annex ns, and 
declined. It had two important reasons for this. 
In the first place, it knew that Mexico would declare 
war against it, if it took Texas, and it wanted to 
remain at peace. In the second place, there were 
a great many people in the United States who were 
bitterly opposed to slavery; and, since there were 
slaves in Texas, they did not want the country. 
The Texans became somewhat angry at this refusal, 
and in October, 1838, withdrew their offer. 

The United States learns the value of Texas. — 
For several years, now, very little was heard of 
annexation, either in Texas or the United States. 
But during all of this time immigrants were pouring 
into Texas, and, as the population increased, the 
merchants of the United States realized that the 
trade of Texas was w^ortli having. Then the alarm- 
ing rumor spread that England was planning to 
get possession of Texas, and it began to be said 
that the United States must take it to prevent Eng- 
land from doing so. Toward the end of 1843 Presi- 
dent Tyler asked whether Texas was still willing 
to be annexed to the United States. President Hous- 
ton pretended that the people had lost interest in 
the matter and hinted that it miarht be better for 



183 



A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 



them to remain independent and keep on good terms 
with England. And'this, of course, made President 
Tyler more anxious to get the country. 

The annexation of Texas. — Those in the United 
States who were opposed to slavery were still able 
to delay annexation for many months, but in 
February, 1845, congress passed a bill providing 

that Texas should be an- 
nexed. Dr. Anson Jones was 
now president of Texas, and 
he called a convention to 
meet at Austin on July 4, 
1845, to decide whether 
Texas should accept the of- 
fer. Before it met Mexico 
offered to recognize the inde- 
pendence of the republic and 
make peace, provided Texas 
would refuse annexation. 
But the convention voted 
almost unanimously to ac- 
cept annexation. A constitu- 
tion was then adopted, and submitted to the United 
States Congress for approval. And as soon as Presi- 
dent Jones learned that it was approved, he delivered 
the government to Governor J. Pinckney Henderson, 
who had been elected to receive it. In his farewell 
address, delivered February 16, 1846, President 
Jones declared that "the Republic of Texas is no 




President Anson Jones 



THE EEPUBLIC OF TEXAS 183 

more. ' ' But he thought it far better to be a part of 
the great American Union than to remain inde- 
pendent. 

Texas retains its public land. — It was customary 
for the United States to own the vacant lands in 
the states, but Texas was allowed to keep its lands, 
in order to pay its debts. This was very fortunate 
for Texas, because a few years later it sold a por- 
tion of the land to the United States for ten million 
dollars. With this money it paid all of its debts, and 
still had left a vast quantity of land. This has been 
of the greatest benefit to the state. A great deal 
of it has been used to pay for the establishment of 
our public free schools. Some of it was given to 
the University and to the Agricultural and Mechan- 
ical College. Three million acres were given in pay- 
ment for the great granite capitol at Austin. And 
much of it was given to railroads to encourage rail- 
road building. 

Mexico protests against annexation. — Mexico had 
several times told the United States that it would 
consider the annexation of Texas as a cause for w^ar. 
And Texas had not been three months in the Union 
before war began. We shall learn more in the next 
Chapter of the part which Texas played in the Mex- 
ican War. 

Summary. — The United States recognized the 
independence of Texas in 1837, but the European 
countries were slower in recognizing it. England 



184 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

at first hesitated to recognize Texas, for fear that 
Mexico would be unable to pay its debts to English 
subjects; but later there was a good deal of talk 
about England's taking Texas herself. Mexico stub- 
bornly refused to give up its claim to Texas, but 
no serious trouble arose between the two countries 
during President Houston's first term. During Pres- 
ident Lamar's administration the Texans became 
aggressive. They assisted the Liberals, and invaded 
New Mexico. The Mexicans replied by sending two 
expeditions to San Antonio. And this caused the 
Mier expedition. No fighting took place after 1843, 
but Mexico still refused to give up its claim. Dur- 
ing all this time the Texans wished to join the 
United States. At first the United States refused 
to annex Texas, but later changed its mind and 
proposed annexation. Texas accepted this offer, 
and was fortunately allowed to retain control of 
its public land. Mexico protested against annexa- 
tion, and shortly afterwards the Mexican War 
began. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Describe the condition of Texas after the battle of 
San Jacinto. 

2. How did the people try to remedy this situation? 

3. Give an account of Santa Anna from the battle of San 
Jacinto to February, 1837. 

4. Why was he not freed by President Burnet? Do you 
think that he should have been freed? Why? How did 
President Burnet answer his complaints? 



THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS , 185 

5. Give an account of the other Mexican prisoners. 
Were they mistreated by the Texans ? 

6. Who composed the army of Texas during the summer 
and fall of 1836? Why did the volunteers come to Texas? 

7. Why did President Burnet not dismiss the army? 

8. What was President Houston's policy toward the 
army? 

9. What important questions were voted on in the elec- 
tion of 1836, and how were they settled ? 

10. Give an account of the services of President Burnet 
to Texas. 

11. Give a sketch of the life of General Houston. AVhat 
was his policy toward Mexico? Toward the Indians? 
Toward the finances? 

12. Give an account of Stephen F. Austin's services. 
Why was he called the Father of Texas? What honors were 
paid his remains by the government? Where are his remains 
now buried ? Do you think that he was a great man ? Why ? 

13. Give a sketch of President Lamar. What was his 
policy toward Mexico? Toward the Indians? Toward the 
finances ? 

14. What did President Lamar do for public education 
in Texas? Do you think that he was as good a president as 
was President Houston? Why? 

15. Why was not General Houston elected for two terras in 
succession ? 

16. Give a sketch of President Jones. What do you con- 
sider -the most important event of his administration? Was 
he responsible for this? 

17. What was the financial condition of Texas at the close 
of the revolution? 

18. For what did the government need money after the 
revolution was over? In what ways did the government try 
to get money ? Why did it fail to get enough money ? 



186 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

19. What are customs duties? Does Texas collect customs 
duties now? 

20. Why did the paper money become reduced in value? 
31. What was the financial condition of Texas at the close 

of the Eepublic? 

23. AA'hat were the Texas rangers? 

33. Why were the Indians more troublesome during Presi- 
dent Lamar's administration than during President Houston's 
first term ? 

24. Give an account of the expulsion of the Cherokees from 
East Texas. Why was this done? 

25. Give an account of the wars with the Comanches. 

26. What was the chief importance of these Indian 
troubles ? 

27. What inducements did Texas offer immigrants who 
settled in Texas ? 

28. What conditions in the United States led to the immi- 
gration of many settlers to Texas? 

29. Why did the German settlers come to Texas? 

30. What was the homestead law ? How could it encourage 
settlers to come to Texas ? 

31. How many immigrants probably came during the 
period of the republic? In what parts of Texas did they 
settle ? 

33. How did President Lamar plan to pay for the estab- 
lishment of public schools? 

33. What do we mean when we say that the United States 
recognized the independence of Texas? 

34. Why was England interested in Texas? In what way 
did this stimulate the interest of the United States in Texas? 

35. Why did Mexico refuse to recognize the independence 
of Texas? Why did Mexico not invade Texas between 1836 
and 1843? 

36. What was the Eepublic of the Kio Grande ? 



THE EEPUBLIC OF TEXAS 187 

37. What was the object of the Santa Fe expedition? 
Who was responsible for it? Clive an account of its failure. 
What effect did it have upon Mexico? AVhat was Mexico's 
reply to it ? 

38. Give an account of the two Mexican invasions of 
Texas during 1843. 

39. Give an account of the Mier expedition. 

40. Give an account of the Texas navy. 

41. Why did Texas wish to be annexed to the United 
States? Why did the United States refuse to annex it in 
1837? Why did the United States change its mind during 
1838-1843 ? 

43. How did Mexico try to prevent annexation? 
43. Why was Texas allowed to keep its public lands ? Why 
was this important to Texas ? 

ADDITIONAL READING 

The return home after the battle of San Jacinto: Bolton 
and Barker, With the Makers of Texas, 309-213, 318. 

Internal Affairs of the Republic : Davis, Under Six Flags, 
111-137. 

Indian Troubles: Bolton and Barker, 333-336, 333-335, 
348-353, 366-269; Davis, 116-117, 130-123. 

Early Schools: Bolton and Barker, 341-346. 

The Santa Fe expedition : Bolton and Barker, 336-341 ; 
Davis, 133-134. 

The Mier expedition : Bolton and Barker, 353-365 ; Davis, 
134-131; Littlejohn, "Drawing the Black Beans," "Castle 
Perote" in Texas History Stories; Mrs. F. C. G. Iglehart, 
The Boy Captive of the Texas Mier Expedition. 

The end of the Republic: Bolton and Barker, 370-373; 
Davis, 133-136. 

The Xavy: Davis, 117-130. 



CHAPTER VIII 

EAELY STATEHOOD: FROM ANNEXATION TO SECESSION, 

184&-1861 

Changes in government caused by annexation. — 
When Texas gave up its position as an independ- 
ent nation to become a part of the United States, 
it was necessary to change the form of its govern- 
ment. It was to have a governor instead of a presi- 
dent, a legislature instead of a congress, and it had 
to give up to the government of the United States 
complete .control over the army and navy, the cus- 
tom houses, and postal service, the coining or issu- 
ing of money, and the right to declare war and 
make treaties with other nations. But this was an 
advantage rather than a disadvantage to Texas, 
because by giving up these things the people were 
able to dispense with a large number of public offi- 
cials, and thereby save a great deal of expense. 
Texas now entered upon a period of great growth 
and prosperity; but before studying that develop- 
ment we must notice briefly the war between the 
United States and Mexico and its consequences for 
the state. 

General causes of the war between the United 
States and Mexico. — There were several causes for 

188 



EAELY STATEHOOD ' 189 

tlie war between the United States and Mexico, 
but tlie most important ones were concerned witli 
Texas. An unfriendly feeling had existed between 
the two countries sin,ce the Texan revolution. The 
people of the United States had always remembered 
that the Texans were their kinsmen and they had 
helped the Texans in their struggle for independ- 
ence. The Mexicans resented this, claiming that 
it was the duty of the United States to prevent its 
citizens from fighting against Mexico while the two 
governments were at peace with ea,ch other. Then, 
too, Mexicans dreaded the power of their great 
northern neighbor. But the chief causes of the war 
were: (1) the annexation of Texas, and (2) the dis- 
pute over the boundary between Texas and Mexico. 
The annexation of Texas as a cause of the war. — 
Mexico, as you remember, had never acknowledged 
the independence of Texas, had done all in its power 
to prevent other nations from doing so, and had 
fiercely resented every move that threatened to 
place that rebellious province under the secure pro- 
tection of the Stars and Stripes. Three times Mex- 
ico had invaded Texas in pretended efforts to recon- 
quer the country. It went so far as to warn the 
United States that it would regard the annexation 
of Texas to the Union as equivalent to a declaration 
of war. Finally when the United States openly 
declared for annexation in March, 1845, the Mexi- 
can minister at Washington made a vigorous pro- 



190 



A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 



test and left the United States, while the minister 
of the United States at the City of Mexico was 
ordered to leave the country. All friendly rela- 
tions were thus broken off. However, war did not 
begin at once and the United States sent a special 

envoy to Mexico 
to attempt to set- 
tle the differences 
between the two 
countries. 

The boundary 
dispute as a cause 
of war. — B u t it 
was the boundary 
dispute that led 
to the actual out- 
break of war. The 
old boundary be- 
tween Texas and 
the Mexican 
states to the south 
had been the Nue- 
claimed this as the 
an act of 




Territory at Outbreak of the 
Mexican War 



ces River, and Mexico still 
line; but the first Texas congress, by 
December 19, 1836, had declared that the Rio Grande 
was the boundary, and the United States had ac- 
cepted this as the correct line. 

The outbreak of war. — Soon after annexation was 
decided upon. President Polk sent General Zachary 



EARLY STATEHOOD 



191 



Taylor with a small army to the disputed territory. 
Taylor encamped near Corpus Christi, and remained 
there during the winter. In the spring of 1846, in 
spite of the protests of the Mexicans who insisted 
that he was on Mexican soil, he advanced into the 
disputed territory, and marched his army toward 
the Rio Grande. After some skirmishing, a serious 
battle was fought near the present city of Browns- 




iiiE liisiioi's Palace, Monterey 

(Where Heavy Figliting Occurred 1 

ville, in which the Americans were victorious. This 
was on May 8. Four days later the United States 
Congress declared war and voted men and money 
for an invasion of Mexico. 

The part of Texas in the war. — It was natural 
that Texas should play a prominent part in this war. 
It lay nearest to Mexico and the war v/as, in a sense, 
the continuation of its own struggle for independ- 



192 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

ence. With the news that fighting had begun, the 
war spirit swept over the state, and at the call for 
volunteers there was a rush of Texans to the Mexi- 
can frontier. Governor Henderson^ accepted the 
position of major general of volunteers, and under 
his leadership and that of such men as Albert Sidney 
Johnston, Jack Hays, Ben McCulloch, George T. 
Wood, and Edward Burleson the Texans bore an 
important part in the campaigns in Mexico. The 
total number of Texans who served in the war is 
not known exactly, but it is estimated at about 
eight thousand, which is a far greater number than 
was furnished by any other state. 

Terms of peace. — With the details of the war we 
need not bother. Mexico soon learned that it was 
no longer dealing with a feeble province but with 
a great and powerful nation. In less than two years 
it was completely overpowered, and agreed to a 
treaty of peace (February 2, 1848). This is called 
in history the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (Gwii- 

^ J. Pinckney Henderson was born in North Carolina in 
1809, and came to Texas in 1836. He was an able man and 
an eloquent lawyer and became attorney general in President 
Houston's first administration, then secretary of state. He 
afterwards served the Republic as minister to England and 
France and then to the United States. For his gallantry in 
the Mexican War congress voted him a sword. At the close 
of his term as governor he retired to private life, but in 1857 
he was elected to the United States senate. However, he died 
before he could take his seat. 



EARLY STATEHOOD I93 

da-loop'y E-dargo), because it was signed at the 
town of that name a few miles from the City of 
Mexico. By this treaty Mexico gave up its claim 
on Texas, agreed to the Eio Grande as the boundary, 
and surrendered to the United States for fifteen mil- 
lion dollars the vast region now included in Cali- 
fornia, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona, with part of 
New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. Since this 
great territory ,came to the United States as the 




Guadalupe Hidalgo 
(Where the treaty of peace was signed) 

result indirectly of the annexation of Texas, we can 
now see how very important is the history of the 
little colonies established in Texas by Austin and 
others. The battle of San Jacinto and the winning 
of Texas independence thus become important even 
in the history of California. 

A boundary dispute with the United States. — 
When the United States began to take possession 
of the territory which Mexico gave up in the treaty 
of Guadalupe Hidalgo, a dispute arose with Texas. 



194 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

The Texans claimed more than half of the present 
State of New Mexico — that part east of the Rio 
Grande. You remember that one of the main objects 
of the Santa Fe expedition during President Lamar's 
administration- was to take possession of it. The 
United States was determined to include this region 
in the new territory of New Mexico, and pointed out 
that Texas had never been in possession of the land, 
and that, therefore, it had no title to it. Texas 
replied that the Mexican War was fought by the 
United States to prove that the Eio Grande was 
the boundary of Texas. Both Governor Wood^ and 
his successor. Governor Bell," tried to persuade the 
United States government to acknowledge the 
claims of Texas, but their efforts were without avail. 
Excitement in Texas now ran high. Newspapers 
and public speakers denounced the United States 
government, declaring that it was trying to rob 
Texas. The legislature passed a resolution renew- 
ing the claim to the disputed region, and it looked 
for a time as if there might be war between the 

^ George T. Wood, a member of the constitutional conven- 
tion of 1845, state senator in 1846, and a colonel of volunteers 
in the Mexican War, was elected governor in 1847 and served 
one term. He died in 1850. 

^ P. Hansborough Bell, a native of Virginia, took part in 
the battle of San Jacinto and later served on the frontier and 
in the Mexican War. He served two terms as governor, four 
years in the United States Congress, and then removed to 
North Carolina, where he died, in 1898. 



EAELY STATEHOOD 



195 



state and the general government. Thoughtful men 
on both sides were very uneasy. 

The settlement of the dispute. — But at this point 
Henry Clay, of Kentucky, one of the greatest states- 
men of his time, proposed a compromise in the 
United States Senate, and the dispute was finally 
settled as he suggested. 
A bill was passed by Con- 
gress offering Texas ten 
million dollars for its 
claim to this territory 
and to a narrow strip of 
land extending as far 
north as the present state 
of Wyoming. Many Tex- 
ans did not wish to ac- 
cept this offer, but the 
governor and the legisla- 
ture thought it would be 
w^iser to do so. Thus 
Texas came to have the 
western boundary that it 
has to-day.^ This was really a good bargain for 

^ The boundary was to run along the 103d meridian west 
longitude, but the surve3dng was done so carelessly that the 
line actually ran several miles west of tliat meridian. When 
New Mexico organized to apply for statehood, in 1910, it set 
up a claim to tlie narrow strip between the line as surveyed 
and the meridian. The United States, however, held that the 
line should remain as surveyed. 




Territoey Claimed by Texas 

AND Sold to the United 

States in 1850 



196 A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS 

Texas, for the state was heavily loaded with debt 
and the money for this land went a long way toward 
relieving it of the burden. 

The public debt. — Texas still owed the heavy 
debts contracted during the period of the Eepub- 
lic. The total amount was nearly twelve million 
dollars. It had been expected that most of this 
could be paid gradually by the customs duties col- 
lected on the goods which were imported into Texas 
from other countries. Perhaps this really could have 
been done if Texas had remained independent, but 
as we have seen, when it was annexed, it gave up 
to the United States its custom houses and the 
right to collect duties. The only income the state 
now had was from taxes and the sale of public 
lands; and, since the total receipts from these 
sources were barely enough to pay the running 
expenses of the government, it was impossible to 
pay back debts. 

How the debt was paid. — The sale of its land 
claims to the United States gave Texas at once more 
money than it could have saved from the customs 
duties in a great many years. With this the debts 
were paid at the rate of seventy-seven cents on the 
dollar, and the state was relieved from a most 
embarrassing situation. In 1855 the United States 
gave Texas nearly three million dollars more, to 
repay it for the expense that it had been put to in 
defendina- itself from the Indians, who had been 



EARLY STATEHOOD 197 

drifting in from the United States ever since 1836. 
This enabled the state to make many useful improve- 
ments. For several years Texas had more money 
than it needed, and the taxes collected during this 
time were given over to the counties, which used 
them for building court-houses and schools. A capi- 
tol and other public buildings were erected at Aus- 
tin, and homes were established for the blind, the 
deaf and dumb, and the insane. 

Immigration to Texas. — The white population of 
Texas in 1836 was between twenty-five and thirty 
thousand, and it was scattered thinly over a vast 
region. Before annexation it had increased to 
nearly a hundred thousand, and there were, in addi- 
tion, some thirty-five thousand slaves. Annexation 
and the triumphant conclusion of the Mexican War 
induced more people to come to Texas, and by 1850 
the total population of the state was about two 
hundred and twelve thousand, of whom fifty-eight 
thousand were slaves. The stream of immigrants 
grew larger every year. The new-comers were from 
all parts of the United States, though most of them 
came from the Southern states — Georgia, Alabama, 
Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Others con- 
tinued to come from foreign countries to seek a 
liome and liberty on the broad lands of Texas. Of 
those the greatest number were Germans, fleeing 
from oppression in tlieir native land. They settled 
for the most part in south and southwest Texas, in 



198 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

and around tlie towns of Brenliam, New Braunfels, 
Fredericksburg, San Antonio, and Cuero. They and 
their children have .contributed a great deal to the 
upbuilding of Texas. 

The removal of the Indians. — As new immigrants 
came in and settled on the western frontier, the 
Indians again became troublesome. In fact, as 
buffalo and other game became scarce, the Indians 
were almost compelled to resort to plundering and 
cattle stealing to secure a living. For several years 
the United States kept troops stationed at various 
points in the w^est, and these with Texas rangers 
were kept busy protecting the settlements from 
hostile attack. To put a stop to the trouble the 
United States government at first undertook to 
colonize the Indians and to teach them to live in 
settled communities. Tw^o colonies or reservations 
were established, one near the present town of 
Graham, in Young County, and the other on the 
Clear Fork of the Brazos, about forty miles farther 
west. At these colonies, dwellings and store-houses 
were built, schools were established, and several 
hundred acres of land were cleared and put in culti- 
vation. The Comanches, however, found it hard to 
give ui^ their wild life, and now and then some of 
them would break away and join bands of hostile 
Indians in raids on the white settlements. Finally, 
to prevent further bloodshed, the United States de- 
cided to remove the Indians from Texas. Leaving 



EAELY STATEHOOD I99 

their growing crops in the fields, and many of their 
cattle on the ranges, the Indians, to the number of 
fourteen hundred, were marched across the Red 
River into the Indian Territory. Here new lands 
were given to them, and they have 'since gradually 
settled down to civilized life. 

The western frontier. — The frontier was now pro- 
tected from the savage Indians and became fairly 
prosperous. The more peaceful condition of the 
country and the opening up of the public lands in- 
duced still more rapid immigration, and by 1860 the 
population of Texas numbered four hundred and 
twenty-two thousand whites and more than a hun- 
dred and eighty thousand slaves. Eastern Texas 
was still the most thickly settled section, while the 
central part of the state was very thinly settled. A 
line drawn a little to the west of San Antonio, 
Austin, Waco, and Fort Worth w^ould indicate 
roughly the boundary of the settled country. 

Industries before 1860. — The occupations of the 
people were such as are natural in a new country. 
There were few towns, and they were all small and 
far apart. Most of the people were farmers and 
stock-raisers. Along the larger rivers — the Sabine, 
Trinity, Brazos, and Colorado — there were already 
large plantations of cotton and corn, cultivated by 
slaves. It was then generally believed that the 
black prairie lands, which we now know to be very 
rich, would not grow crops. Besides, wire fences 



200 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

had not then been invented, and there was no easy 
way of fencing the land. Therefore, most of the 
dwellers on the prairies and nplands raised cattle 
and horses on the great iinfenced pastures. 

The need of railroads in Texas. — One of the great- 
est hindrances to the development of Texas was the 
lack of easy means of transportation. The rivers 
were too shallow for steamboats to venture far from 
the coast, the roads were bad, the streams were 
unbridged, and there were no railroads. Farm 
products and other goods w^liich the Texans wished 
to sell had sometimes to be hauled hundreds of miles 
to shipping i^oints on the coast or in Louisiana. 
This hauling was so expensive that the profit left 
to the grower was always very small and at times 
the goods were sold at a loss. Cattle and horses 
had to be driven in herds to market in far away 
New Orleans. Merchandise from outside was 
brought in at great cost and only the well-to-do 
could afford even the simplest luxuries. 

The beginning of railroad building in Texas. — 
Men were not long in seeing that the state would be 
greatly benefitted by railroads, but there was so 
little money in the country that it was for a long 
time impossible to build them. At last, in 1850, a 
company of citizens undertook to build a road, and 
by 1855 thirty-two miles of track were completed 
from Harrisburg to the Brazos River, opposite the 
town of Richmond. It is now a part of the great 



EARLY STATEHOOD 



301 



Southern Pacific system which extends from New 
Orleans to San Francisco. By this time the legis- 
lature had passed a law offering railroad com- 
panies sixteen sections of land, amounting to more 
than ten thousand acres, for every mile of track 
built. It also lent them money from the school fund 
to help them build their lines. During the next few 




Railroads in Texas Before the Civil War 

years ten other roads were started, but all were very 
short, and one was only five miles long. Most of 
them reached only a little way into the state from 
Galveston and Houston. But with the outbreak of 
the great war, all railroad building in Texas stopped 
for nearly seven years. 



202 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



Beginning of the public school system. — Among 
the things that Texas needed most at this time were 
public free schools. In a few places there were pri- 
vate schools, but these were often poorly taught, and 
only a small portion of the children could attend 
them. Too many young men and women were grow- 
ing up without the education 
that was necessary to make 
them good citizens. But in 
1853, E. M. Pease,^ one of 
the ablest men in Texas, be- 
came governor, and his first 
recommendation to the legis- 
lature was that it establish a 
system of public schools. A 
start was made in 1854, but 
a complete system could not 
be put into operation all at 
once. It was very hard to 
get competent teachers ; and 
there was not enough money to keep the schools 
open for the full term, so that the pupils still had to 

^ Elisha M. Pease was born in Connecticut in 1812, and 
came to Texas in 1835. He practiced law successfully, and had 
held a number of state offices when elected governor. He was 
re-elected in 1855. He later opposed secession and lived in 
retirement in Austin during the Civil War. During the 
period of reconstruction he was appointed provisional governor 
by General Sheridan, holding the office from 1867 to 1869. 
He died in 1883. 




GovEKNOK E. M. Pease 
(1853—1857; 1S67— 1869) 



EAELY STATEHOOD 203 

pay tuition part of the time. A few years later the 
Civil War broke out, and during the war nearly all 
the schools were closed. 

The approach of the Civil War. — But now, just as 
the financial difficulties of Texas were safely past, 
its population rapidly increasing, its vacant lands 
settling up, railroads and school houses building, 
and everything fair with promise, a terrible trouble 
loomed ahead. Thoughtful men began to fear that 
the Northern and Southern states could no longer 
live peaceably together, and that they would have 
to separate. At the same time it was feared that 
the Northern states might not want to agree to the 
separation and that a war would break out if the 
Southern states started to withdraw from the Union. 
One cause of disagreement between the North and 
the South was the slavery question. 

The beginning of the slavery question. — You 
remember that the English people first began to 
settle in America about seventy-five years before 
La Salle landed in Texas. They needed laborers to 
help them clear the land and cultivate the fields, 
but there were no laborers to hire. In the midst of 
their difficulty, a vessel arrived in America with 
a cargo of negroes who had been captured in Africa, 
and the captain sold these negroes to the colonists 
as slaves. They worked well, and soon others were 
brought from Africa, and the labor problem was 
solved. These first slaves were brought to America 



204 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

in 1619, nearly three hundred years ago. At that 
time no one saw any harm in slavery. It was 
thought to be a good thing for the negroes to 
bring them from the ''Dark Continent" of Africa 
to the civilized country of America, where they 
would be better fed and better clothed, and where 
they could learn to be Christians. 

Slavery unprofitable in the North. — For nearly a 
hundred and fifty years there were slaves in all of 
the English colonies, but just about the time that 
these colonies revolted from England and became 
the United States the people in the North began to 
set their slaves free. Their chief reason for this 
was that slaves were not profitable in the North. 
Most of the land there was poor, and the fields were 
small, so that it did not pay to use slaves in their 
cultivation. In the South, on the other hand, the 
land was rich, and the cultivation of tobacco, rice, 
and cotton could be carried on by slaves with great 
profit. Moreover, much of the best land lay along 
the river bottoms, and these were so unhealthful 
that it was thought that white men could not live 
there. Slaves were absolutely necessary, therefore, 
if these fertile lands were to be used. This, then, 
was the situation in the United States until about 
the time when Austin brought his first colonists to 
Texas: the Northern states had no need of slaves, 
and gave them u]); while the Southern states did 
need them, and kept them. 



EARLY STATEHOOD 205 

The Abolitionists. — But now there arose a new 
way of thinking about slavery. It began to be said 
both in the South and in the North that it was not 
right to buy and sell and own negro men and women. 
Nevertheless, there seemed to be no way to put a 
stop to slavery. Men in the South had millions of 
dollars invested in slaves, and they felt that they 
could not afford to give up so much money by free- 
ing them. At first most of the people in the North 
felt the same way about the matter. They were 
sorry that there were slaves in the South, but they 
did not think it right to ask the slave-owners to 
give them up. Later a few men in the North began 
to say that slavery should be abolished at once. 
Because they wished to abolish slavery they were 
called abolitionists. 

The Southern states secede from the Union. — As 
time went on, the people in the South came to fear 
that those in the North would be persuaded by the 
abolitionists to free the slaves. They grew tired 
of the continual arguing about the matter, and when 
Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the 
United States by the party opposed to slavery, they 
decided to withdraw from the United States and 
form a union of their own. South Carolina took 
the lead in this, and it was soon followed by ten 
other states. These were Mississippi, Florida, Ala- 
bama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, North 
Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas. This was in 



206 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



the early part of 1861. These states established a 
government very much like that of the United 

States, and took the name 
of the Confederate States 
of America. Jefferson Da- 
vis, of Mississippi, was 
elected president of the 
new republic.^ Our great 
citizen, Judge John H. 
Eeagan, was his postmas- 
ter general, and one of his 
most useful assistants. 

The North objects to the 
secession of the South. — 
But just as many had ex- 
pected, the North opposed 
the withdrawal of the 
South from the Union. It 
w^as said that the states 
had no right to secede, and 
President Lincoln ordered out the army to prevent 
it. A great many people in the South were very 
sorry to see the Union broken up; but they hon- 
estly believed that each state had the right to with- 




President Jefferson Davis 



^ Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of 
America, though raised in Mississippi, was born in Kentucky 
on June 3, 1808, and his birthday is now a legal holiday in 
Texas. He graduated at West Point at the age of twenty, and 
won distinction in the Indian wars and in the war with 



EARLY STATEHOOD 207 

draw if it chose, and when President Lincoln tried 
to prevent this they went to war. This terrible war 
lasted four years, but we must leave an account of 
it to the next Chapter, 

Summary. — The annexation of Texas to the 
United States brought on a war with Mexico in 
which the Texans greatly distinguished themselves. 
At the close of the war the United States acquired 
a vast territory in the West, and the Rio Grande 
became the recognized boundary between Texas and 
Mexico. A dispute then arose with the United 
States over claims to a part of New Mexico, but 
this was settled by a compromise in which the 
United States paid Texas ten million dollars for 
its claims. With this money and another sum paid 
for damages done by Indians the Texan debt was 
paid. Immigrants poured into the state, the Indians 
were removed, the frontier was protected, railroads 
were begun, and a public school system started. 
But just as Texas was beginning to prosper the 
quarrel between the Northern and Southern states, 

Mexico. He was secretary of war under President Franklin 
Pierce, and was senator from Mississippi for several 3'ears. 
He resigned his seat in 1861 when his state withdrew from 
the Union, because he thought that his first duty was to his 
state. As president of the Confederacy he probably did all 
that any man could have done to win southern independence. 
After the war he suffered two years of imprisonment without 
a trial, but was finally released in May, 1867. He died in 
1889 at the age of eighty-one. 



208 A SCHOOL HISTOKY OF TEXAS 

chiefly over slavery, became so bitter that the South- 
ern states seceded and formed a government of 
their own. Texas was one of those to secede. Then 
began the Civil War. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Why was it necessary to change the government of 
Texas after annexation? What changes were made? 

2. Wliat did Texas gain by the change? 

3. What were the general causes of the war between the 
United States and Mexico ? 

4. Why did the annexation of Texas help to cause the 
war? 

5. What was the boundary dispute with Mexico? Show 
on a map where the southern boundary of Texas was, accord- 
ing to the claim of Mexico. 

6. Where did the war begin? Why did the Texans pUiy 
so large a part in it ? 

7. What were the terms of peace ? How do the results of 
the Mexican war prove the importance of earlier Texas 
history ? 

8. Why did Texas claim part of New Mexico? Why did 
the United States refuse to allow the claim ? 

9. How much was Texas paid for its claim? Show on a 
map the cession made by Texas. What was done with the 
money Texas received? 

10. Why had Texas not been able to pay its debts earlier ? 

11. What was the population of Texas in 183G? in 1846? 
in 1850? in 1860? 

12. Why did settlers come to Texas? Where did most of 
them come from? Where did the Germans settle? 

13. Why did the Indians begin giving trouble again ? 

14. How was the population of Texas distributed in 1860 ? 



EARLY STATEHOOD 209 

15. What were the chief occupations of the people? 

16. Why were raih-oads badly needed in Texas? When 
and where was the first railroad built? 

17. How did the state government help the railroads? How- 
many roads had been started before the outbreak of the Civil 
War, and where were they? (See map, page 201). 

18. Why had Texas not established public schools before 
1854? How did the Civil War affect the schools? 

19. How did negro slavery begin in America? How was 
slavery regarded then? 

20. AVhy did slavery die out in the North and flourish in 
the South? 

21. "Wliy did the Southern people refuse to free their 
slaves ? 

22. Why did they want to secede from the Union ? What 
states seceded and when? 

23. What did they do next? 

24. What did the North do ? AVhat followed ? 

ADDITIONAL READING 

The War with Mexico: Bolton and Barker, With the 
MaJcers of Texas, 275-279; Davis, Under Six Flags, 136-140. 

The Frontier and the Texas Rangers : Bolton and Barker, 
273-275, 280-285; Davis, 140-147. 



CHAPTER IX 

CIVIL WAR AND EECONSTEUCTION 

1. THE CIVIL WAE 

The purpose of this chapter. — We must now fol- 
low the story of the part which Texas played in the 
Civil War, and give an account of the trying days 
of "reconstruction" that continued for four years 
after the readmission of the state into the Union 
in 1870. 

Texas secedes and joins the Confederacy. — At the 
close of 1860, people began to insist that Governor 
Sam Houston^ should take steps to call a convention 
for the purpose of deciding whether Texas should 
join the Soutliern Confederacy or remain in the 
Union. But Houston, who opposed secession and did 
not want a convention, refused to do so. Then a 
number of prominent men, without the governor's 
consent, urged the people to elect delegates. This 

^ Houston had succeeded Hardin Eichard Eunnels as gov- 
ernor in 1859. Eunnels was a native of Mississippi. He came 
to Texas in 1841, became a prominent lawyer, and served sev- 
eral terms in the legislature. He was speaker of the house 
of representatives in 1853-1854, and was lieutenant-governor 
during the second administration of Governor Pease. 

210 



CIVIL WAE AND EECONSTEUCTION 



211 



was done, and the convention met at Austin on Janu- 
ary 28, 1861. Four days later the delegates drew up 
an ordinance of secession. 

The Secession Ordinance. — This document de- 
clared that the Northern states, by their attacks 
upon slavery, had violated the constitution of the 
United States, and that the power of the government 
was now being used to oppress the slave states. For 




GALVESTUN AliOUT IblilP 

(From engraving in the State Library) 



these reasons Texas was declared wholly separate 
and free from the United States. At the same time 
the convention voted to join the Southern Confed- 
eracy. The ordinance was passed in the conven- 
tion by a vote of one hundred and sixty-six to 
seven, and it was later voted on by the people and 
approved. A great many people in Texas were 
very sorry to have to withdraw from the Union, but 
two things caused them to vote for secession: (1) 
they believed that the interests of Texas lay with 



212 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

the South rather than with the North, and (2) they 
believed that the North had no right to keep the 
Southern states in the Union by force, if they wanted 
to withdraw. 

Houston tries to prevent secession. — Governor 
Houston, however, opposed secession at every step. 
He said in one of his public speeches: "You may, 
after the sacrifice of countless millions of treasure 
and hundreds of thousands of pre.cious lives, as a 
bare possibility, win Southern independence, if God 
be not against you; but I doubt it. I tell you that 
while I believe with you in the doctrine of state 
rights, the North is determined to preserve this 
Union. ' ' 

The convention deposes Houston. — But all his pro- 
tests were in vain. The convention demanded that 
all the officers of the state should come before it 
and swear allegiance to the Confederacy. Houston 
refused to do so. The convention then declared 
the office of governor vacant, and Edward Clark, 
the lieutenant-governor, was installed as governor, 
Houston at first refused to give up the office, but 
he declined to use force to sustain himself. "I love 
Texas too well," said he, "to bring civil strife and 
bloodshed upon her. To avert this calamity I shall 
make no endeavor to maintain my authority as chief 
executive of the state, except by the peaceful exer- 
cise of my functions. I protest in the name of the 
people of Texas against all the acts and doings of 



CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION 213 

this convention and declare them null and void." 
But he was for,ced to yield. He retired to his home 
at Huntsville, where he died two years later at the 
age of seventy. 

Volunteers from Texas. — Jefferson Davis, the 
president of the new Confederacy, began at once 
to organize an army for the approaching struggle. 
When he called on Texas for volunteers there was 
a quick response. Many of those who had opposed 
secession now entered the army, declaring that they 
would stand by their state in the hour of peril. It 
is impossible to find out just how many men went 
from Texas into the Confederate armies during the 
war, but there were probably about fifty thou- 
sand. Among them were Hood's Brigade, Gran- 
bury 's Brigade, Ross's Brigade, Terry's Rangers, 
and the Eleventh Texas Cavalry. All of these won 
undying glory for themselves and for Texas by 
their dashing valor on the field of battle, but it 
will not be possible for us to follow their story 
here. 

The war in Texas. — Fortunately for the people 
of Texas, there was less fighting here than in any 
other state of the Confederacy. Only three or four 
attempts were made by the Northern armies to 
invade Texas, and all of them failed. The most 
important of these were the capture of Galveston, 
the attack on Sabine Pass, and the attempts to enter 
Texas by the Rio Grande and the Red River. 



314 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

The capture and retaking of Galveston. — Although 
the Northern armies could not at first get to Texas, 
there were a number of warships which sailed up 
and down the Gulf coast trying to prevent the 
Texans from trading by sea with foreign nations. 
On October 4, 1862, after the war had been going 
on for a year and a half, some of these ships 
determined to make an attack on Galveston. The 
Confederate troops who were defending the island 




■ " r*fHl*5 «*■««.»' 







COTTON-CLADS 



were unprepared for battle and withdrew to the 
mainland, leaving the city in the hands of the 
Federals, as the Union soldiers were called. But 
Galveston was the chief seaport of Texas, and was 
too important a place to leave in the hands of the 
enemv. Besides there was danger that the Federals 



CIVIL WAE AND EECONSTEUCTION 215 

might land an army there for the invasion of Texas. 
So General Magruder planned to recapture the city. 
Two cotton steamers at Houston were fitted up as 
gunboats, and on their decks, protected by cotton 
bales, were placed a number of volunteers, armed 
with rifles and shot-guns. These "cotton-clads," 
as the boats were called, were to slip down Buffalo 
Bayou and across Galveston Bay and attack the 
United States vessels in the harbor. At the same 
time about a thousand men, with a few cannon, were 
to cross the Bay secretly, and attack the garrison 
by land. On the night of December 31, 18G2, the 
plan was carried out. Before daybreak on New 
Year's morning the land force had driven the gar- 
rison to the extreme northern end of the island, 
where it surrendered. In the meantime, the cotton- 
clad steamers arrived and captured all but four 
or five of the enemy's ships. It was a brilliant 
victory for the Confederates, and General Magruder 
and his men received the thanks of President Davis 
and the Confederate Congress, as well as of the 
Texas legislature. 

Federal invasion repulsed at Sabine Pass. — The 
second attempt to invade Texas came in September, 
1863, when an army of five thousand Federals set 
sail from New Orleans to Sabine Pass, with the 
purpose of lauding there and advancing on Beau- 
mont and Houston. But this attempt failed more 
signally than did the attempt to enter Texas by 



216 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



way of Galveston. When the army reached Sabine 
Pass and attacked the little fort there, its garrison of 
forty-seven men, commanded by Lieutenant Dick 
Dowling, not only repulsed them, but without losing 




A-A-C. Proposed line of march from Sabine Pass to Galveston. B-B. Pro- 
posed line of supply from V'elasco to Houston. D-D. Proposed line of invasion 
of the interior. 

Fedei!al Plan of Invading Texas Through Sabine Tass 
(Taken from Official Records, volume 2G) 



a single man captured two of their gunboats and 
three hundred and fifty prisoners. After this dis- 
aster the Federals gave up the attempt and returned 
to New Orleans. 

Attempted invasions by way of Brownsville and 
of Red River. — About two months later came tlie 
next attack, this time upon the town of Brownsville, 
near the mouth of the Rio Grande. One object of 



CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION 



2ir 



this invasion was to cut off the ,cotton trade which 
Texas was carrying on with Mexico. Another object 
was to prevent the French, who had just seized 
Mexico, from helping the Southern states in their 
struggle for independence. There were very few 
Confederate troops at 
Brownsville at this time, and 
General Banks with six 
thousand Federals easily 
captured the town. During 
the summer of 1864, how- 
ever, all but a handful of the 
Federal soldiers were with- 
drawn to make an attack on 
East Texas. They went by 
sea to New Orleans, and 
planned to march up Red 
Eiver to Texas, but they 
were defeated before reach- 
ing the border of the state and the exjDedition was 
abandoned. A little later the Federal troops were 
withdrawn from Brownsville and Texas remained 
free from attack during the rest of the war. 

Politics and elections. — During the war the few 
men who were left in the state paid very little atten- 
tion to politics. Governor Clark served for a short 
time in 1861, and was then succeeded by F. R. Lub- 
rali,- who was elected by a large majority over his 
the state in good condition for defense, and to raise 




Dick Dowlinu 



218 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

men and supplies for the Confederate armies. He 
was followed in 1863 by Governor Pendleton Mur- 
rali,^ who was elected by a large majority over his 
opponent, General T. J. Chambers. Murrah did all 
in his power to keep up the strength of the state, 
but long before the end of his term it was plain that 
the Confederacy was slowly sinking to its fall. 

How Texas furnished supplies to the Confederacy. 
— Though the other Confederate states were pre- 
vented from trading with foreign powers by United 
States warships which blockaded the coast, Texas 
managed to keep up an important trade with Mexico 
throughout the war. This was of immense advan- 
tage, not only to Texas, but to the whole Confed- 
eracy, because goods brought into Texas were 
shipped immediately to the suffering Confederate 
armies throughout the South. But it was not only 

^ Francis Eichard Lubbock was born at Beaufort, South 
Carolina, in 1815. He came to Texas in 1836, and the next 
year was appointed comptroller of the Eepublic by President 
Houston. Thereafter he took a prominent part in politics 
and was elected lieutenant-governor in 1857. He served one 
term as governor, 1861-1863, and then became a member of 
the statf of Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy. 
In 1878 he was elected state treasurer, and held the office for 
twelve years. He died in 1905. 

^ Pendleton Murrah, a native of South Carolina, came to 
Texas at an early day and settled at ]\Iarshall. He took an 
active part in politics, and was elected to the legislature in 
1857. When the Confederacy fell, he fled to Mexico, where 
he shortly afterwards died. 



CIVIL WAE AND EECONSTEUCTION 319 

with goods brought from Mexico that Texas sup- 
plied the Confederacy. Many small factories were 
established in the state for the manufacture of cloth, 
hats, shoes, blankets, tents and other necessities. 
The state penitentiary at Huntsville was converted 
into a great factory, and turned out large quantities 
of military supplies, which were forwarded to Texas 
soldiers in the field, or were sold to the Confederate 
government. In fact, Texas became the store house 
for the western part of the Confederacy, and sent 
to the Southern armies large quantities of beef, 
pork, corn, and other food stuffs. As every attempt 
to invade the state failed, and as its industries were 
not destroyed by the contending armies, Texas was 
in a much better condition in every way when 
the war closed than was any other state of the 
Confederacy. 

Home life during the war. — But even in Texas the 
war brought hard times and great suffering. Many 
things which we now consider necessary to every- 
day life were then the greatest luxuries, or could 
not be had at all. Calico was worth fifty dollars 
a yard in Confederate money. Coffee could often 
not be bought at any price, because there was none 
in the country. The people, however, found that a 
fair substitute for coffee could be made from parched 
sweet potatoes, rye, or okra-beans, and this was gen- 
erally used. For soda they burned corn-cobs and 
used the ashes; while for medicines they were com- 



220 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

pelled to use roots and herbs and the bark of certain 
trees. 

Sorrow at home. — But this was not the worst of 
the situation. From nearly every home some one 
had gone to join the army, and only the very old 
men, the young boys, the women and girls, the 
officers of the government, and others absolutely 
needed to manage affairs, were left in the state. 
You can easily imagine the unhappiness which set- 
tled upon every home, for at any moment news 
might come that some dearly beloved member of 
the family had died on a far-off field of battle. "My 
dear, dear brother," wrote a lady during that awful 
time, "we are filled with anxiety for him! Even if 
he is spared through this fight, when and where 
can we see him again? . . . This is a cruel war. " 

How the women helped the soldiers. — But the 
women did not begrudge their men to the Confed- 
eracy. No one believed more strongly than they 
in the right of the South to withdraw from the 
Union, and they wanted their soldiers to fight and 
win. 

No sacrifice was too great for them to make, 
if it would only in,crease the comfort of the soldiers 
in the field. They stripped their beds of blankets to 
send to the army and cut up their flannel wrappers 
to make the soldiers shirts. Little girls learned to 
knit socks, and little boys turned the spinning wheel 
while their mothers spun wool and cotton from which 



CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION 



221 



to weave cloth for the homespun clothing that nearly 
everybody wore. Sunday School classes and Ladies' 
Aid Societies busied themselves in doing things for 
the soldiers. 

Loyalty of the slaves. — During the whole course 
of the war the slaves remained for the most part 
faithful to their 
masters. While the 
men were away in 
the army, they 
guarded the homes 
and protected the 
defenseless women 
and children. And 
crops produced by 
their labor on South- 
ern farms went far 
to support the 
Confederacy in its 
struggle against the 
government which 
wished to free them. 

Many a kind old slave loved his master's children as 
if they were his own; and the old "black mammy" 
was a cherished member of many Southern families. 

The end of the war. — But all efforts were in vain. 
The North had too many men and too much money. 
While the Southern soldiers often suffered for the 
barest necessities of life, the Northern armies were 




An Old-Time Negro 



222 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



usually supplied with abundance of food and com- 
fortable clothing. At last the great Confederate 
commander-in-chief, General Robert E. Lee,^ was 
compelled to surrender to an army more than thrice 
the size of his own. This occurred at Appomattox 

Court House in Virginia, on 
April 9, 1865 — almost four 
years to a day after the 
struggle began. All was 
now over. Wherever the 
news was heard, the Con- 
federate armies broke up, 
and the men returned to 
their homes. Their joy at 
seeing their loved ones 
again was mixed with sor- 
row that their cause was 
lost, but they spent no time 
in idle grief. There was 
w^ork to do in restoring the state to prosperity, and 
bravely they set themselves to the task. 

^ Robert Edward Lee, the great Confederate general, was 
born in Vhginia on January 19, 1807, and was educated at 
West Point. He won distinction in the Mexican War, and 
at the outbreak of the Civil War he was practically com- 
mander-in-chief of the armies of the United States. He 
believed tliat the Soutbcrn states had a rigbt to withdraw from 
the Union, but he did not think that it was wise at that time to 
do so. With a sad heart he resigned his place in the Federal 
army, believing, like President Davis, that his first duty was 




General Robert E. Lee 



CIVIL WAE AND RECONSTEUGTION ^23 

2. RECONSTRUCTION 

The problem of reconstruction. — The South was 
not to be left in peace to recover from the effects 
of the war. Its armies had surrendered, and it had 
been forced to remain in the Union, but a great 
many people in the North believed that the South- 
erners would refuse to obey the laws of the United 
States if they were allowed to manage their own 
state governments, as they had done before the 
war. These people were particularly afraid that the 
Southerners would continue to treat the negroes 
as slaves, although President Lincoln had issued a 
proclamation during the war declaring them free. 
How to prevent these things became the great ques- 
tion at the North. 

The establishment of garrisons in Texas. — The 
federal forces began to arrive in Texas during the 
summer of 1865, a few weeks after the break up 
of the Confederate armies. On June 18 General 
Gordon Granger landed at Galveston, and the next 
day he issued a proclamation declaring the slaves 
free. It is for this reason that the negroes of Texas 
celebrate June 19 as "emancipation day." Other 

to his state. In writing to his sister he said : "With all my 
devotion to the Union and the feeling of loyalty and duty of 
an American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind 
to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home." 
After the war was over he served for several years as president 
of Washington and Lee University. He died in 1870. 



234 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



soldiers were soon stationed at different points in 
the state, and thus "reconstruction" was begun. 

The President's plan of reconstruction. — At first, 
however, the people did not foresee the hardships 
that were in store for them. President Andrew 
Johnson was a Southern man, and, besides sympa- 
thizing with the people of 
the South, he believed that 
they could be trusted to re- 
turn to the Union and obey 
its laws. He insisted there- 
fore on only three things. 
In the first place, the peo- 
ple of each state must hold 
a convention and declare 
that secession from the Un- 
ion had been illegal. This 
would be the same thing in 
effect as saying that they 
had never been out of the 
Union. In the second place, 
they must recognize the negroes as free. And in 
the third place, they must declare that all debts 
contracted by the state for the purpose of carrying 
on the war were illegal, and would therefore not be 
paid. 

After doing these things the Southern states 
would be restored to the Union. For the purpose 
of carrying out this policy in Texas the president 




Governor A. J. Hamilton 
(1865-1S6C.) 



CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION 225 

appointed A. J. Hamilton^ provisional governor of 
the state. 

The provisional government. — When he arrived 
at Austin, the new governor found a difficult task 
awaiting him. There had been no sort of govern- 
ment in Texas for two months and everything was 
in .confusion. His first duty was to appoint officers 
— judges, sheriffs, clerks, tax assessors and col- 
lectors, county commissioners, and others — all over 
the state and to restore order. This took a long 
time, because the mail service had not yet been 
restored, and there were almost no telegraph lines 
or railroads. But the people generally gave the gov- 
ernor their support, and by November his efforts to 
restore order had been so far successful that he 
issued a proclamation calling for the election of dele- 
gates to meet in convention at Austin in February, 
1866. 

Regular government restored. — The convention 
met on February 7, 1866, and the president's plan 
was put before the delegates. For some of them it 

^ x\ndrew Jackson Hamilton was a native of Alabama who 
had come to Texas in 1817. He was a very able man and a 
remarkable orator, and became prominent both in law and 
politics. He served the state as attorney-general, and in 
1859 was elected to the United States Congress. Being 
strongly opposed to secession, and refusing to support the 
Confederacy, he left Texas and went to the North. He was a 
prominent figure in Texas throughout the reconstruction 
period. He died in Austin in 1875. 



226 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS 



went very much against the grain to carry out his 
wishes, but at last, after much bitter discussion, 
secession was declared illegal; the Hegroes were 
acknowledged to be free, with the same rights before 
the courts and with the same right to hold property 

as the whites;^ and the 
state debts contracted dur- 
ing the war were canceled. 
In June, 1866, an election 
was held for regular state 
officers, and J. W. Throck- 
morton,- who had been 
president of the conven- 
tion, was elected governor. 
President Johnson then or- 
dered Governor Hamilton 
to turn over his office to 
the newly elected governor ; 
and Throckmorton was in- 
augurated in August, 1866. 
The new legislature mot at the same time. After 
more than a year of waiting, the people were now 
under a government of their own choosing. They 

- James W. Throckmorton was a native of Tennessee, and 
rights with the wliitcs. They could not appear as witnesses in 
court, sit on juries, or vote. 

^ James W. Throckmorton was a native of Tennessee, and 
came to Texas in 1841 at the age of sixteen. He had repre- 
sented Collin County in the legislature hefore the war, and 
as a member of the convention in 1861, had strongly opposed 




Gov. J. W. Thuockmorton 

(1S00-1SG7) 



CIVIL WAR AND EECONSTRUCTION 227 

tliouglit that their greatest troubles were over, but 
we shall see that they were sadly mistaken. 

Congress establishes military government, 1867. — 
Congress was now controlled by the most radical 
leaders of the Eepublican party, and they thought 
that the president's plan of reconstruction was too 
easy for the South. So they refused to permit the 
senators and representatives from the Southern 
states to take their seats in Congress. They then 
passed a law placing the whole South under mili- 
tary rule, and provided that this should continue in 
each state until the people proved their good inten- 
tions by adopting a constitution giving the negroes 
the right to vote and hold office. They also required 
the people to accept the fourteenth amendment to 
the constitution of the United States, which guaran- 
teed to the negroes the right to hold property, to 
appear as witnesses in court, and to sit on juries. 
When this should be done, the Southern states would 
be restored. General Philip Sheridan, who had made 
a record as a dashing cavalry officer during the war, 

secession, being one of the seven who voted against it. Declar- 
ing then that he would stand by his state, he joined the Con- 
federate army as a private, but rapidly rose to the rank of 
brigadier general. During most of the war he was commis- 
sioner to the Indians beyond Red River. During reconstruc- 
tion he was one of the most prominent figures in the state, and 
Texas has never had a more honest official. He afterwards 
served four terms as a member of Congress. He died at 
McKinney in 1894. 



228 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

was commander of tlie troops in Texas and Louis- 
iana, but in liis dealings with the people he proved 
to be an extremely harsh and nnjust official. He 
set aside whatever laws he did not like, and began 
removing state and county officers on the charge 
that they were hostile to the general government. 




The Governor's Mansion at Austin 

The removal of Governor Throckmorton. — Gov- 
ernor Throckmorton tried to carry out the orders of 
Sheridan and the laws of Congress, though he did 
not approve of them. But General Sheridan was 
determined to get rid of him, so on July 30, 1867, 
he ordered Throckmorton to give up his office, say- 
ing that he was "an impediment to reconstruction." 



CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTEUCTION 329 

In liis place Slieridau appointed ex-Governor E. M. 
Pease. The clioice was a very good one, for Pease 
was one of the wisest and best men in the radical 
Republican party. He had made a good governor 
before the war (1853-1857), and though he was now 
unpopular, as any radical would have been, it was 
better to have a Texan as governor than to have 
some one who was a stranger to the state. 

Hardships of reconstruction. — In many ways the 
period of reconstruction was more distressing to the 
white people of Texas than the war had been. The 
garrisons scattered here and there over the state 
were a constant irritation, and frequent quarrels 
between the citizens and the soldiers kept the coun- 
try in an uproar. General Sheridan and his officers 
removed many of the state and county officials, 
claiming that they w^ere not in sympathy with the 
plan of Congress. Some of the offices remained 
vacant, but many of them were filled by the appoint- 
ment of ''carpet-baggers" and ''scalawags,"^ for 
most of whom the people then had little respect. 
It became impossible to enforce the laws, and crimes 
of the worst sort became shockingly common. Mcan- 

^ After the war a groat many men from tiie North came 
South in the hope of being appointed to oflfice under the 
rcconstrnction governments. They frequently hrought all 
their belongings in a carpet-bag and for that reason they were 
called "carpet-baggers." "Scalawags" were Southern white 
men who sided with the "carpet-baggers" and negroes. 



330 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

while, bands of idle negroes wandered about the 
country refusing to work, though many fields lay 
unplanted for want of laborers. 

The condition of the negroes. — When General 
Granger issued his proclamation from Galveston in 
June, 1865, declaring slavery at an end, the people 
generally gathered their slaves around them and 
told them that they were free. Some of the slaves 
preferred to stay with their former masters, but 
most of them thought that in order to show that 
they were really free they must quit work and 
gather about the towns and military camps. They 
were very ignorant, and did not realize that the 
free man must work for his living as well as the 
slave. In fact, many honestly believed that the 
government which had been kind enough to set 
them free would see to it that they did not suffer 
want. The Freedmen's Bureau, a sort of branch 
of the United States army that had been estab- 
lished to advise and protect the ex-slaves, did great 
service in supjolying food to the helpless negroes, 
in maintaining schools for them, and in giving them 
advice about making labor contracts. But the offi- 
cers of the Bureau were suspicious of the Southern- 
ers and frequently did harm by unwisely taking the 
part of the negroes against them. Sometimes, too, 
designing men who were not officers of the Bureau 
gained influence over the negroes and tried to set 
them against their former owners. 



CIVIL WAE AND RECONSTRUCTION 231 

The Union League. — The object of such men was 
to control the votes of the negroes, who had now 
been given the right to vote, and for this purpose 
they organized them into what were called "Union 
Leagues." In these organizations the negroes were 
taught how to vote, and were told for whom to cast 
their ballots. In some cases they were organized 
into military companies by their white leaders and 
were supplied with guns and uniforms. This added 
greatly to their feeling of importance, and made it 
hard for their former masters to teach them to settle 
down and live peaceably with their white neighbors. 

The Ku Klux Klan. — The conservative white men 
of the South were opposed to these negro leagues 
for two reasons. In the first place, they thought 
that it was a great mistake to allow the ignorant 
negroes, who had so recently been liberated from 
slavery, to vote and take part in making and enforc- 
ing the laws. In the second place, they thought that 
it was dangerous for the negroes to be going about 
the country in military companies with arms in 
their hands. So, to hold the negroes in check, to 
prevent them from voting, and to keep them away 
from the Union Leagues, the white men organized 
a society of their own, known as the Ku Klux Klan. 
This society, which started in Tennessee, quickly 
spread over all the Southern states. Its members 
would ride out in the still hours of the night, clad 
in long white robes, with masks on their faces and 



233 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

high peaked hats on their heads, and visiting the 
huts of the negroes, would represent themselves as 
the spirits of Southern white men killed in battle. 
They would search the cabins for guns and warn 
the terror-stricken negroes to keep away from the 
Union Leagues, and to stay away from the polls on 
election day. Usually a second visit was unneces- 
sary. When the state governments were once more 
securely established and public order was restored, 
the need for such a society passed away and it grad- 
ually disappeared. 

The new state government established. — You 
remember that in 1866 the people of Texas adopted 
a constitution which declared that secession was 
illegal, that the negroes were free, and that the 
debt created by the state during the war was void 
and should not be paid. But, as we have seen, this 
constitution and the government established under it 
did not satisfy Congress, which passed a law that, (1) 
established military rule, and (2) required the state 
to make a new constitution whi,cli should guarantee 
to the negroes the right to vote. It also provided 
that the negroes should have a right to vote for 
delegates to the convention which was to make this 
constitution. So, in 1868, after the negroes had 
been enrolled as voters and had been told how to 
vote by white leaders of the Union Leagues, Gov- 
ernor Pease ordered the election of delegates. As 
most of the white men who had fought in the South- 



CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION 233 

ern armies were not allowed to vote, a majority 
of the delegates were radical Eepublicans, and a 
few of tliem were negroes. When they met in 
Austin in June, 1868, two opposing factions sprang 
up among them and they spent many weeks in bitter 
wrangling.^ So many of the delegates became dis- 
gusted with the proceedings and went home that 
in February, 1869, no quorum could be obtained 
for carrying on business, and the convention came 
to an end. The constitution was still unfinished, 
but it was soon put into final form by the secretary 
of the .convention, acting under the orders of the 
military commander in Texas, and was ratified by 
the people at an election held in November, 1869. 
At the same time an election for state officers was 
held, and Edmund J. Davis,- after one of the bitter- 
est political contests ever waged in Texas, won the 
office of governor over his opponent, A. J. Hamilton. 

^ The convention consumed a great deal of time in discuss- 
ing plans for dividing Texas into two or three states, and 
came very near to making the division ; but through the efforts 
of ex-Governor Hamilton better counsel prevailed and the 
state remained undivided. 

^ Edmund J. Davis was a native of Florida. He came to 
Texas in 1848, and settled at Corpus Christi, where he became 
district judge. Eefusing to agree to secession, he left Texas 
in 1861 and joined the Northern army. He was a member 
of the constitutional convention of 1866 and was president of 
the convention of 1868. He was governor from 1870 to 1874. 



234 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

Texas re-admitted to the Union. — In February, 
1870, the legislature elected under the new consti- 
tution met and promptly ratified the fourteenth and 
fifteenth amendments to the constitution of the 
United States.^ It then elected two senators and 
asked Congress to allow the senators and representa- 
tives to take their seats. Texas had now done all 
that was required of it. It had declared secession 
illegal; it had cancelled the war debt; it had set 
the slaves free, and in the constitution which the 
negroes had helped to make, it granted them the 
same civil and political rights as were enjoyed by 
white men; and finally it had ratified the amend- 
ments to the federal constitution. So, on March 30. 
1870, Texas was re-admitted to the Union, and 
the next day its representatives and senators were 
allowed to take their seats in Congress. 

Oppressive character of radical government in 
Texas. — But although Texas had regained its place 
in the Union, the government was still in the hands 
of men who had little sympathy for the people. 
The reason for this was that they had been elected 
before the state was re-admitted to the Union, when 

^ The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution provides 
that no state shall deprive any citizen of the United States of 
the right to vote on account of "race, coloi'. or previous con- 
dition of servitude." Texas was required to ratify it, as 
well as the Fourteenth Amendment, before the state would 
be restored to its place in tlie TTnion. 



CIVIL WAE AND EECONSTRUCTION 



235 



nearly all of those who had supported the Confed- 
eracy were denied the right of voting. Governor 
Davis knew that a majority of the people of the 
state were opposed to him, and he believed that they 
would not obey the laws unless compelled to do 
so. For this reason the legislature allowed him to 
appoint judges, sheriffs, and even city officials who 
should have been elected by 
the people. At the same time 
he organized a police force 
of about three hundred offi- 
cers and men, called the 
state police. These men did 
a great deal of good in rid- 
ding the state of outlaws 
and desperadoes; but they 
were a reckless band and 
committed so many outrages 
upon peaceable citizens that 
they became greatly disliked. 
The governor also stationed 

troops at the polls on election days, and in several 
instances established military rule and, in violation 
of the right of trial by jury, tried men. accused of 
crimes by military courts. 

Extravagance of the state legislature. — In addi- 
tion to these oppressive measures of the governor, 
the legislature became very unpopular as a result 
of its reckless use of the state's money and the 




GovEii.Nuii E. J. Davis 



236 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

rapid increase in the rate of taxation. The tax 
rate was fourteen times what it had been in 1866. 
Finally, in September, 1871, there w^as held in Austin 
a great gathering of men of every party to protest 
against the oppressive rule of the radicals, and the 
waste of public money of which they were guilty. 
In this meeting, which was known as the Tax- 
Payers' Convention, ninety-four counties were rep- 
resented, and among the delegates were such well- 
known Eepublicans as ex-Governors Pease and A. J, 
Hamilton, and United States Senator Morgan C 
Hamilton. The convention adopted strong resolu- 
tions denouncing the government of the radical 
Eepublicans and declaring that it was trying to 
place all power in the hands of one man.^ 

The overthrow of radical rule. — The strength of 
the opposition to Governor Davis showed itself at 
the first opportunity. This was at the election held 
in October, 1871, when the Democrats elected all 
their candidates for Congress. In November, 1872, 

^ One of the resolutions said : "The violations of the con- 
stitution and disregard of law have been very frequent and 
very numerous ; tjut, frequent as they have been and numerous 
as they are, we have been unable to find a single one of either 
class based on an lionest desire to accomplish good to the 
people of the state, or to secure the prosperity of the country. 
On the contrary, their apparent cause seems uniforndy to 
spring from one grand purpose : to concentrate power in the 
hands of one man and to emasculate the strength of the 
citizens of Texas as a free people." 



CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION 



237 



the state elections were held. There was no election 
for governor at that time, because, under the con- 
stitution of 1869, Davis had been elected to hold 
office for four years; but this same constitution 
restored the right of voting to most of the ex- 
Confederates who had been 
denied this privilege during 
the period of military rule. 
Nearly all of these new vot- 
ers were Democrats and 
they were able to elect all 
the members of Congress 
from Texas that year, and to 
secure a majority in both 
came in 1873. The Demo- 
crats nominated Richard 
C o k e^ for governor and 
Richard B. Hubbard for 
lieutenant-governor, and after an exciting campaign 
they were elected over Governor Davis by a vote of 
two to one. Davis, who was very angry, declared 




GovEKNOR Richard Coke 
(1874-187G) 



^ Eichard Coke was born and educated in Virginia. He 
came to Texas in 1850 and established himself in the practice 
of law at Waco. He served in the Confederate army and 
rose to the rank of captain. He was elected to the supreme 
court in 1866 but was removed along with Governor Throck- 
morton as an impediment to reconstruction. In 1876, he 
resigned as governor and became United States Senator. This 
place he held for eighteen 3'ears. He died in 1897. 



238 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

that the election was illegal, and said that he would 
not give up the office. While on the second floor of 
the capitol the newly elected legisla'ture was inaugu- 
rating Coke and Hubbard, Governor Davis remained 
in possession of his quarters on the first floor. He 
telegraphed President Grant for soldiers to help 
him, and it seemed for a time that there might be 
bloodshed, but the president refused to have any- 
thing to do with the matter. Two days later Davis 
changed his mind and vacated the office, and Coke 
took possession without interference, January 17, 
1874. 

The constitution of 1876. — Texas was now not 
only a state of the Union, but the government was 
once more in the hands of its own people. One 
thing remained, however, to remind the people of 
the painful period of reconstruction. That was the 
reconstruction constitution of 1869, which was still 
in force. There were many things in that constitu- 
tion that the people did not like, and so a conven- 
tion was held in 1875 and a new constitution was 
made. It was ratified by the people the next year, 
and it is this constitution which is still in force. 

Summary. — Early in 1861 a state convention met 
at Austin and passed an ordinance of secession 
which was approved by a vote of the people. Texas 
then joined the Confederate States. In the war 
which followed, very little fighting occurred in 
Texas. Galveston was taken by the Federals in 



CI\aL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION 2'M) 

October, 1862, but was retaken by the Texans on 
January 1, 1863. An attack upon Sabine Pass was 
brilliantly repulsed, and though the United States 
troops managed to hold Brownsville for a while, 
they never got a footing in the state. From Texas 
ranches and plantations vast quantities of food sup- 
plies went to the Confederate armies, and large 
amounts of other goods were imported through 
Mexico or manufactured in the state. Though they 
endured great privations, the women and children 
and even the slaves worked loyally for the soldiers. 
But the Southern armies were outnumbered and 
crushed; the Federals took possession of Texas in 
June, 1865, and declared the slaves free. Then fol- 
lowed the stormy "reconstruction" times. First, 
President Johnson established a provisional govern- 
ment, which, in 1866, gave way to officers elected by 
the people. But Congress rejected this plan of res- 
toration, and passed laws in March, 1867, putting 
the South back under military rule. Governor 
Throckmorton was removed. The negroes were 
given the right to vote, and many of the whites were 
disfranchised. A great deal of trouble followed. 
A new constitution was framed by the radicals in 
1869, and E. J. Davis was elected governor. Then, 
in 1870, Texas was restored to the Union. While 
Davis was governor many harsh laws were passed 
by the legislature, and a great deal of public money 
was wasted. In 1872, the Democrats got control 



240 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

of the legislature, and iu 1873 tliey elected Richard 
Coke governor. In 1876 a new constitution was rati- 
fied by the people. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Why did the people of Texas wish to secede from the 
United States? 

2. How was the secession convention called? 

3. What did the ordinance of secession declare? What 
was the vote for and against it in the Convention ? 

4. What was Governor Houston's opinion of secession? 
Why was he deposed ? 

5. About how many Texans joined the Confederate 
armies? Name some of the famous regiments and brigades 
of Texans? 

G. What do you think is the reason there was so little 
fighting in Texas? 

7. Describe the loss and recapture of Galveston. 

8. What other attempts were made by the Federals to in- 
vade Texas and how did they result? Trace on the map, p. 
216,, the plan of invasion by way of Sabine Pass. 

9. Who were the governors of Texas during the war? 

10. Why was there so little interest in politics at that 
time ? 

11. Why was Texas called the storehouse of the western 
part of the Confederacy? 

12. How was Texas able to maintain a foreign trade in 
spite of the blockade? 

• 13. What was done in the way of manufactures in 
Texas ? 

14. Describe some of the hardships endured by the people. 

15. How did the slaves conduct themselves during the 
war? 



CIVIL WAR AND EECONSTEUCTION 241 

16. How and when did the war come to an end? 

17. AVhat was the problem of reconstruction, as viewed by 
the Northern people? 

18. Why do the negroes of Texas celebrate the 19th of 
June? 

19. What was President Johnson's plan of reconstruction ? 
What must each state do in order to be restored to the Union ? 

20. Who was appointed provisional governor? In what 
condition did he find Texas? What did he do first? 

21. When did the Convention meet? What did it do? 

22. When were the regular elections held, and who was 
chosen governor? 

23. How did Congress regard the President's plan of 
reconstruction ? 

24. Were the Southern states allowed representation in 
Congress ? 

25. Who was placed in military command of Texas? How 
did he act toward Texas ? 

26. Why was Governor Throckmorton removed ? Who was 
selected to succeed him? 

27. What were the chief troubles of the people during 
reconstruction? Why did the policy of Sheridan make mat- 
ters worse? 

28. Who were "carpet-baggers" and "scalawags" ? 

29. What did the negroes do after they were freed? 

30. What was the purpose of the Freedmen's Bureau? 
What good and what harm did it do? 

31. What were Union Leagues? Why did the whites 
oppose them? How did the whites try to keep the negroes 
away from the Leagues? 

32. What was the reason for a new Constitutional Conven- 
tion in 1868 ? 

33. How did the negroes first get the right to vote? 



y42 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

34. What party elected the majority of delegates to the 
convention of 1868? Why? What did the convention do? 

35. How was the constitution put into final form ? When 
was it ratified by the people? 

36. Who were the candidates for governor in 1869 ? Wlio 
was elected ? 

37. When was Texas readmitted to the Union ? What had 
it been compelled to do before it was readmitted? 

38. Did the people regain control of the state government 
at once? Why? What was Governor Davis's opinion of the 
people ? 

39. What was the state police force? What good and what 
harm did it do? 

40. How did the governor misuse his military power? 

41. Why did the legislature l^ecome unpopular? 

43. Tell what you can about the Tax-Payers' Convention. 

43. How was the strength of the opposition to Governor 
Davis first shown? 

44. Explain the victories of the Democrats in 1872. 

45. Who was elected governor in 1873? 

46. Why did Davis refuse to give up his oifice? How did 
he try to keep possession? Why did he yield? 

47. Why was another constitutional convention held in 
1875? Do we still live under the constitution which it 
framed ? 

ADDITIONAL READING 

The Capture and Retaking of Galveston: Bolton and 
Barker, With the Malcrs of Texas, 293-298; Davis, Under 
Six Flags, 157, 160-162. 

The Battle of Sabine Pass: Davis, 163-165; "Brave Dick 
Dowling," in Littlejohn's Texas History Stories. 

Home Life During the War : Bolton and Barker, 290-292, 
306-310; Davis, 158-160. 



CHAPTEE X 

THE STATE SINCE RECONSTRUCTION: FORTY YEARS OF 
PROGRESS (1874-1912) 

Character of the period. — With the close of recon- 
struction, Texas regained its place in the Union 
and its people were once more in charge of their 
own public alTairs. The state now entered upon 
a period of rapid develox:>ment whicli has continued 
without any serious interruptions down to the pres- 
ent time. With the return of settled .conditions, 
industry and commerce took on new life, railroad 
building began again and went forward as never 
before, towns and cities sprang up on every side, 
and a great tide of immigration set in from the older 
Southern states, and from the North and East as 
well. To the study of this happy period the remain- 
der of this book is devoted. The present chapter 
gives a brief account of the leading events of the 
state's history from 1876 to the present time. The 
next chapter tells of the growth of population and 
industry, while the last chapter describes our system 
of public education. 

The second election of Coke and Hubbard. — In 
February, 1876, Governor Coke and Lieutenant- 
Governor Hubbard were re-elected for a term of two 

243 




Governor James Stephen Hogg 
(1801-1895) 



THE STATE SINCE RECONSTEUCTION 245 

years. A little later Coke resigned the office of gov- 
ernor to enter the United States Senate, to which 
the legislature elected him. As a result Hubbard^ 
became governor and served for the remainder of 
the term. The question of the state's tinances was 
the most pressing problem with wlii,ch the new 
state government had to deal. 

Financial condition of Texas in 1876. — When the 
democrats got control of the government in 1874, 
the finances of the state were in very bad condition. 
The public debt was about five million dollars. In 
addition, the government had promised to pay to 
the Texas and Pacific and the International and 
Great Northern railroad companies ten thousand 
dollars in bonds for every mile of track they would 
build in the state. The object of this was to encour- 
age railroad building in order to develop the coun- 

^ Eichard B. Hubbard, born in 1832, was a native of 
Georgia. He was educated at Mercer College and later studied 
law in the University of Virginia and in Harvard. At the 
age of twenty-one, he settled in Tyler, Texas, and began the 
practice of his profession. During the Civil War, he dis- 
tinguished himself in the Confederate service and rose to the 
rank of colonel. In 1873, he was elected lieutenant-governor 
and was re-elected in 1876. When Coke entered the United 
States Senate, Hubbard became governor. During President 
Cleveland's administration, ex-Governor Hubbard was sent as 
minister to Japan, and upon his return to this country he 
published a book on Japan. He died at his home in Tyler 
in 1901. 



246 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

try, but it was an arrangement which might have 
involved the state in an additional debt of ten or 
twelve million dollars. Although the rate of taxa- 
tion was excessively high, the treasury was empty, 
the state's credit was ruined, and its warrants were 
being sold at a heavy discount. 

How this condition was improved. — The most 
rigid economy and careful management were needed 
to meet this critical situation. The salaries of public 
officials were reduced and all unnecessary expenses 
were avoided. A .compromise was made with the 
railroads by which they were given twenty sec- 
tions of public land per mile instead of the state 
bonds which had been promised. A portion of each 
year's taxes were set aside to create a sinking 
fund for the purpose of paying the interest and dis- 
charging the principal of the public debt. No one 
was more successful in overcoming these difficulties 
than was Governor 0. M. Roberts, who served from 
1879 to 1883.1 jje adopted as the motto of his 

^ South Carolina sent many men to Texas, but none of them 
left a stronger impress upon the state than did Oran M. 
Eoberts. He was educated at the University of Ahibama, 
from which he graduated in 1836. Five years later he came 
to Texas and opened a law office at San Augustine. He was 
made colonel of the Eleventh Texas Infantry during the 
Civil War, but was elected chief justice of the supreme court 
of Texas before the war was over. In 1S66 he was elected 
United States Senator from Texas but as the state had not 
yet been readmitted to the Union, he was not allowed to take 



THE STATE SINCE RECONSTRUCTION 247 

administration the injunction, "Pay as you go," and 
enforced it rigidly in every brancli of the govern- 
ment. So successful was this policy that in his 
final message to the legislature in 1883 he was able 
to report that during his two terms nearly a million 
and a half dollars had been paid on the state 's debt, 
and the taxes had been reduced from fifty cents to 
thirty cents on a hundred dollars' worth of property. 

Other governors have continued the good work 
begun by Governor Roberts. The state's debt is now 
reduced to a very small amount, and the general 
property tax is only about twelve cents on each hun- 
dred dollars' worth of property. This is about one- 
fourth of the rate that was paid in 1871. 

The restoration of public order. — Most of the vio- 
lence of the early years of reconstruction had passed 
away before the close of that period. Much dis- 
order still remained, however, and the governors 
under the new constitution set themselves resolutely 
to the task of stamping it out. Governor Hubbard 
was especially active in the enforcement of the laws, 
offering large rewards for the capture and convic- 

his seat. He was again elected chief justice in 1874, and held 
the position until his election as governor in 1878. While 
governor he was largel}^ instrumental in getting the University 
of Texas started and at the close of his second term he became 
professor of law in that institution. During the ten years of 
his service in that position he exercised a powerful influence 
over all the young men who attended his classes. He resigned 
in 1893 and died in 1898. 



348 A SCHOOL HISTOKY OF TEXAS 

tion of outlaws. Among those prosecuted were sev- 
eral groups of daring land thieves. They maintained 
offi,ces in some of the large cities of the state, and 
were engaged in forging deeds to lands belonging 
to other people. These gangs were now broken up 
and a number of the forgers were sent to the 
penitentiary. 

Fence cutting. — Another matter that gave consid- 
erable trouble was the strife that grew up between 
the farmers and ranchmen in the western part of 
the state. The ranchmen were buying and leasing 
large tracts of public land and were enclosing them 
with wire fences, which were just then coming into 
use. They sometimes enclosed school lands to which 
they had no right, thus unjustly depriving the farm- 
ers of pasturage for their stock. In some cases they 
would leave no roads or gates and would completely 
fen,ce in small farmers or settlers, whom they called 
"nesters." This greatly angered the settlers and 
they began cutting the fences of the ranchmen. 
Sometimes for many miles the wires would be 
clipped between all the posts. Finally in 1884 the 
trouble became so common and the feeling between 
the ranchmen so bitter that Governor Ireland^ called 

^ Joliii Ireland was a native of Kentucky who began life 
as a poor boy. He worked to pay his expenses while attending 
a country school, and began studying law at the age of twenty- 
four. He came to Texas before the war and settled ^ 
Seguin. Like Hubbard and Eoberts, lie entered the C 



THE STATE SINCE EECONSTEUCTION 349 

a special session of tlie legislature to deal with the 
matter. A law was passed punishing fence-cutters 
with a term in the penitentiary. This put a stop to 
the fence cutting, and protected the fences of the 
ranchmen. The stockmen, on the other hand, were 
required to leave all public roads open, to put in 
gates every three miles, and to pay for any damage 
they had done by fencing in the land of settlers. 

The burning of the old capitol. — As the result of 
an accidental fire, the old state capitol at Austin 
was completely destroyed on the afternoon of 
November 9, 1881. Practically everything in it was 
lost, including the state library, which contained 
many valuable books, documents, and historic relics. 
The capitol building itself, however, was regarded 
as of small value, for it was wholly unsuited to 
the needs of a rapidly growing state like Texas. 
In fact, plans had already been made for the con- 
struction of a suitable State House, and three mil- 
lion acres of land in the Panhandle of Texas had 
been set apart to pay for it. 

The new capitol. — Governor Eoberts called a spe- 
cial session of the legislature, which, after providing 
for the erection of a temporary capitol building at 

federate army and rose to the rank of colonel. He served in 
both branches of the state legislature and was a member of the 
state supreme court. He served two terms as governor. Retir- 
ing from the office in 1887, he resumed the practice of law in 
Seguin, where he died in 1896. 



250 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

the foot of Gapitol Hill, made provision for the 
immediate construction of the new capitol. A board 
of commissioners, with Governor Roberts at its head, 
was created to take charge of the work. This board 
made a contract with a company of Chicago capital- 
ists who agreed to build the capitol in exchange 
for the three million acres of land. The corner- 
stone was laid on Texas Independence day, 1885, and 
the building was completed and dedicated with elab- 
orate ceremonies on May 16, 1888. Governor Ross^ 
had the honor of being the first governor to occupy 
the new building. The Capitol is a building worthy 
of Texa^ It is built of the famous red granite of 
Burnet county, and is probably the most substantial 
capitol building in the United States. In size, it is 
second only to the national capitol at Washington, 
and at the time of its completion it was said that 

^ Lawrence Sullivan Eoss, one of the distinguished governors 
of Texas, was a native of Iowa, but was reared in Texas. Like 
Eoberts, he was a graduate of the University of Alabama. 
While yet a young man lie won distinction as an Indian fighter. 
On one of his campaigns against the Comanches, he captured 
the long lost Cynthia Ann Parker. She had been captured 
by the Indians when a girl of nine. When the Civil War 
broke out, Eoss entered the Confederate army as a private 
and rose to the rank of brigadier general. He held a number 
of public offices in Texas and was twice elected governor of the 
state by large majorities. At the end of his term of office, he 
became president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College 
of Texas, which position he held until his death in 1898. 



THE STATE SINCE RECONSTRUCTION 



251 



there were only six larger buildings in the world. 
It is in the form of a Greek cross, being five hundred 
and sixty feet long and two hundred and eighty 
feet broad. It is surmounted by a magnificent dome 
that rises to the height of more than three hundred 
feet. 

The loss of Greer county. — What is known as the 
Greer county question gave the public men of Texas 
considerable trouble 
for a number of years. 
This was a contro- 
V e r s y between the 
State of Texas and 
the government of the 
United States over 
the interpretation of 
the treaty which the 
United States made 
with Spain in 1819. 
At that time Spain 
was still in possession 

of Texas, and this treaty declared that the northern 
boundary of Texas was to follow the Red River 
westward to where it is crossed by the one hundredth 
meridian. Later, when the upper courses of the river 
were explored, it was found to have two branches, 
and a question at once arose as to which should 
be regarded as the principal branch. If the 
north fork were so regarded, the land lying 




Gkeee County 



252 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



between the forks would belong to Texas; bnt if 
the south fork were the true Red River, the land 




Roberts Ross 

Four Distixguisiied Governoks 



Hogg 



would belong to the United States. Texas at an 
early day assumed that the north fork was the 
Red River proper, and organized the land into a 



THE STATE SINCE KECONSTRUCTION 253 

county, and established courts and public schools. 
The United States asserted that the south fork was 
the main stream and laid claim to the land as a 
part of the Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. Texas 
finally carried the question to the Supreme Court 
of the United States and, in 1896, a decision was 
rendered in favor of the United States. Many 
Texans have never ceased to regret the loss of this 
fine territory. 

Governor Hogg and railroad regulation. — Proba- 
bly the most important political problem which 
Texas has met and solved since the days of recon- 
struction is the proper regulation of the railroads 
and express companies doing business in the state. 
The most prominent man in working out this prob- 
lem was Governor James Stephen Hogg,^ the father 
of the Texas Eailroad Commission. A brief account 
must be given of the struggle that resulted in the 
creation of this commission. 

^ James Stei^hen Hogg, the first native Texan to rise to the 
oflfice of governor, was certainly one of the greatest pubhc 
men tliat the state has ever produced. He was distinctly a 
'-'self made man," for at the age of tweh^e his father died and 
he was left to support himself and to get such education as 
ho could pick up at the country schools. For a time he pub- 
lislied a country newspaper called the Longview News. Later 
he studied law and at the age of twenty-four was admitted to 
the bar. He Avas elected county attorney, thc.n district attor- 
ney, and in 1886 he became attorney general of the state. His 



254 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

Why the railroads needed regulating. — The people 
of Texas were very liberal in assisting railroad com- 
panies that wished to build in the state. The gov- 
ernment granted them liberal charters and gave 
them large tracts of the public lands; while coun- 
ties and cities sometimes voted them bonds, and 
the people along the routes gave them the rights 
of way and large sums of money. For these favors 
the railroad companies seemed to the people to be 
utterly ungrateful. Though the amounts which the 
roads charged for carrying passengers and freight 
were probably no higher than was necessary in a 
sparsely settled country such as Texas then was, 
the people thought that the rates were too high and 
demanded that they be reduced. Besides, the rail- 
roads were often unjust in their charges. They fre- 
quently charged a favored shipper a smaller amount 
for carrying his goods than they charged other 
persons for carrying their goods an equal distance, 
thus giving the former an unjust advantage over 
his rivals in business. In the same way they would 

success in this office and his great ability as a leader of men 
made him governor in 1890, and re-elected hini in 1892 in the 
face of the opposition of the railroads and other powerful 
corporations. At the close of his second term he took up the 
practice of law, first in Austin, and later in Houston. But he 
always took an active interest in public affairs, and was instru- 
mental in securing the anti-free-pass law and other useful 
measures. He 'died in March, 19()(i, at the age of fifty-five, 
and was buried in the state's burial ground in Austin. 



THE STATE SINCE KECONSTRUCTION 255 

give an unfair advantage to certain favored towns 
by making lower freight rates to them than to other 
towns the same distance away. Still another evil 
arose from the granting of free passes to many rich 
and influential shippers, while the poor men who 
rode on the trains were forced to pay full fare. 
These passes, too, were given in large numbers to 
state and county officers and to officials of the courts. 
It was thought that this was done in order to win 
the favor of these officials. Finally the railroad 
companies formed themselves into a league, or pool, 
as it was called, for the purpose of keeping up the 
rates on freight. 

The Railroad Commission. — All these abuses 
caused a strong feeling against the railroads, and 
the people began to demand that they treat all 
shippers and passengers alike. Various laws were 
passed for this purpose, but it w^as impossible to 
make the railroads obey them. At last the legisla- 
ture submitted for popular approval an amendment 
to the state constitution authorizing the legislature 
to establish a railroad commission. James Stephen 
Hogg was then attorney general. He had won great 
prominence by breaking up the railroad pool just 
mentioned and by forcing the railroads to surrender 
large tracts of the public lands which they wrong- 
fully held. He now l^ecame a candidate for governor 
in support of the proposed amendment, and was 
nominated bv the Democratic convention in 1890. 



256 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



In November he was elected by a large majority 
over his Republican opponent. At the same elec- 
tion the amendment was adopted by an equally large 
majority. As a result of this victory at the polls 
the legislature passed a law in 1891 creating a com- 
mission of three men, appointed by the governor, 

with power to investigate all 
complaints against the rail- 
roads and to fix the rates 
which they could charge for 
carrying freight and passen- 
gers. 

The first railroad commis- 
sioners. — In his sele,ction of 
the first railroad commis- 
sioners Governor Hogg 
showed excellent judgment. 
He named Judge W. P. 
McLean, an able attorney 
of Fort Worth; Hon. L. L. 
Foster, who was afterwards 
president of the Agricultural and Mechanical Col- 
lege; and, most important of all, Senator John H. 
Reagan,^ who had been prominent in all the public 

^ John H. Eeagan, born in 1818, was a native of Tennessee. 
At thirteen 3-ears of age he was forced to stop school and go 
to work in the field in order to help support the family. But 
he is said to have carried a small dictionary in his hat which 
he studied whenever he stopped for a few moment's rest. 




JoDGE John H. Reagan 

(Chairman of the Railroad 
Commission, 1891-1902) 



THE STATE SINCE RECONSTEUCTION 257 

affairs of Texas for half a century. Much of the suc- 
cess of the railroad commission has been due to the 
ability and high character of these early commis- 
sioners. 

The fight on the commission. — The commission 
created was not to escape without a fierce fight 
for its life. The new commissioners had no sooner 
entered upon their duties than the railways began 
to disobey their orders, saying that the law creating 
their office was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court 
of the United States, however, decided that the law 
was constitutional, and that put a stop to the efforts 
of the railroads in this direction. Their next move 
was to try to defeat Governor Hogg and thus secure 
a repeal or a modification of the commission law. 
But in this also they failed, for in November, 1892, 
after one of the bitterest campaigns ever known in 

Later he attended college for a short time but his health 
failed and his money gave ont, and he had to stop. He came 
to Texas in 1839. Here he took up the study and practice of 
law and was elected to congress in 1856. This position he 
held until the war broke out, when he resigned to become 
postmaster general of the Confederacy. At the close of the 
war he returned to his farm near Palestine,' and in 1875 was 
again elected to congress. After twelve years in the lower 
house he entered the upper house as senator from Texas. 
This position he resigned to become the first chairman of the 
Texas Eailroad Commission. For many years before his 
death in 1905 he was the last surviving member of the Con- 
federate ca1)inet. Few names will live longer in Texas history 
than that of Senator Eeagan. 



258 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

Texas, Governor Hogg was re-elected by a substan- 
tial majority. 

This ended the fight on the commission, and nearly 
everybody now agrees that it has done a valuable 
work for the people of Texas. A year or two later 
the commissioners were made elective by popular 
vote, instead of being appointed by the governor, 
and their term of office Avas increased to six years. 
At the same time they were given power to control 
the issuing of railroad stocks and bonds. Many 
features of the Texas railroad commission have 
been studied and copied by other states. 

Anti-trust laws. — Closely connected with the reg- 
ulation of the railways are the attempts that Texas 
has made to suppress the trusts and monopolies 
that have grown up in recent years. These trusts 
are combinations formed by a number of manufac- 
turers or merchants for the purpose of crushing out 
their rivals in business and securing control of 
the markets. To prevent the growth of such monop- 
olies stringent anti-trust laws were passed in 1889, 
and again in 1899, and in 1903. Under these laws 
a number of suits were brought and some of the 
combinations were fined and broken up and others 
were driven from the state. By far the most impor- 
tant of these anti-trust suits was that against the 
Waters-Pierce Oil Company, which was a branch 
of the Standard Oil Company, one of the greatest 
monopolies that has ever existed. Attorney-General 



THE STATE SINCE EECONSTRUCTION 



259 



R. V. Davidson brought suit against this company 
for violating our anti-trust law. He fought the case 
through the United States Supreme Court, and in 
1908 finally succeeded in collecting a fine of about 
two million dollars, one of the largest fines on record. 
The company was also forbidden to do business in 
the state. 

The Spanish War. — In the 
spring of 1898, during the 
second administration of 
Governor Culberson,^ t h o 
United States declared war 
against Spain. One cause for 
this war w^as the general dis- 
gust felt by the American 
people at the continued 
cruelty practiced by the 
Spanish commanders on the 
Cuban revolutionists. An- 
other cause was the blowing 
up of the American battle- 
ship "Maine" in the harbor of Havana. The people 
of the United States believed that the Spanish 
authorities in Havana were guilty of this great 




Governor C. A. Culberson 

(1S95-1899) 



' Charles A. Culberson came to this state from Alabama 
with his parents when he was only two years of age. His 
father, David B. Culberson, was for many years a member of 
the Texas delegation in congress and was recognized as one 
of the profoundest Jurists that this state has produced. Young 



260 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

crime, and they practically demanded that Congress 
should declare war. The war was a very short one, 
and Spain was speedily worsted both on the land 
and the sea. As a result Cuba was freed from Spain 
and the United States government helped the 
Cubans to establish a free government of their own, 
and then withdrew from the island. 

The part played by Texans in the Spanish War. — 
Upon the outbreak of the war, President McKinley 
issued a call for volunteers, and Texas came forward 
with her full quota of four regiments of infantry 
and one of cavalry. In addition to this a regiment 
of "immunes," or men who had had yellow fever, 
was raised at Galveston and sent to Cuba. The most 
famous regiment recruited in Texas was Colonel 
Roosevelt's Rough Riders. However, it would be 
unfair for Texas to claim all the credit for this noted 
regiment, for, although it was organized at San 
Antonio, it was composed of cowboys and frontiers- 
men from many of the Western states. The readi- 
ness with which the Texans responded to the call 
to arms and the valor shown by them on the battle- 
field proved, if proof were needed, that the fighting 

Culberson graduated from the Virginia Military Institute 
before he was twenty years of age. He studied law at the 
University of Virginia, and soon won distinction among the 
young lawyers of Texas. He was twice elected attorney gen- 
eral, and served two terms as governor. He is now serving his 
third term as United States Senator from Texas. 



THE STATE SINCE RECONSTRUCTION 



261 



blood of the revolutionary fathers still courses in 
the veins of their sons. 

The Brazos floods. — In the summer of 1899, and 
again in 1902, there were destructive floods on the 
Brazos and its tributaries. All the lands south of 
Waco were overflowed, and tremendous damage was 
done to crops and live stock. Railroads running 
through this part of the state were so badly dam- 
aged that for many days the running of trains was 
entirely aban- 
doned. These 
great floods led 
the legislature to 
pass a law allow- 
ing the bottom 
land farmers to 
form themselves levee work near brenham 

into levee districts and sell bonds for the purpose 
of building embankments to keep the rivers from 
overflowing. As a result several large tracts of 
land have now been protected. In Burleson county, 
for instance, a levee district has been formed and 
an embankment some twenty or thirty miles long 
has been completed. This saves from overflow 
many thousands of acres of very valuable land. 

The Galveston storm. — On September 8, 1900, a 
lunous tropical hurricane swept over the entire 
coast country of Texas, doing tremendous damage 




263 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



to life and property. The greatest damage was 
done at Galveston, which, on its low sandy island, 
was totally unprotected from the waves of the Gulf. 
The wind attained a velocity of more than a hun- 
dred miles an hour and rolled huge billows clear 
across the island, crushing the smaller houses like 
egg-shells and using the timbers of the wrecked 

houses as battering rams for 
working further destruction. 
The loss of life was esti- 
mated at six thousand, while 
the property losses amounted 
to many millions of dollars. 
This was the greatest dis- 
aster that has ever befallen 
the state of Texas, and one 
of the worst in the history 
of modern times. Governor 
Sayers^ acted with great 
promptness in organizing 
committees of relief and in 
issuing calls for help for the stricken city. From all 
parts of the state, from every section of the United 
States, and from many lands beyond the sea, came 
liberal contributions in money and supplies, while 

^ Joseph D. Sayers is a native of Mississippi. When he was 
a lad of ten, his parents nioved to Bastrop, Texas, where he 
grew up and received his education. Entering the Confederate 
army as a private he rose step by step to the rank of major. 




Governor J. D. Sayers 
(1899-1903) 



THE STATE SINGE RECONSTEUCTION 



263 



the rich men of Galveston poured out their wealth 
for the relief of the homeless. 

The restoration of Galveston. — With wonderful 
energy and courage the people of Galveston set to 
work to rebuild their city. For weeks they labored 
to clear away the wreckage and to restore their 
homes. Then they determined that such a disaster 
should never occur again, if it was possible to 
prevent it. So they 
built a solid concrete 
sea-wall, sixteen feet 
wide at the bottom 
and seventeen feet 
high, extending for a 
distance of three 
miles along the Gulf 

The Galveston Sea Wall 

front on the south 

and east sides of the island. Then, by lifting the 
houses up on pillars and filling in beneath them with 
sand and earth, they raised the surface of the city up 
to the level of the sea-wall. . Finally, to keep from 

He was twice wounded, and served two years on crutches. In 
18T3, he was a member of the state senate. During Governor 
Eoberts's first administration, Sayers served as Heutenant- 
governor. Then for fourteen years he represented his district 
in congress. In 1898 he was elected governor and was re- 
elected two years later. At the end of his term in January, 
1903, Governor Sayers resumed the practice of law. first at 
San Antonio, and later at Austin, where he now lives. His 
administration was a time of great prosperity to the state. 




264 



A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 



being cut off from the mainland by the destruction 
of the bridges across the bay, the county of Galves- 
ton with the assistance of the railroads, has built a 
massive concrete causeway connecting the island 
with the mainland at Virginia Point. This cause- 
way furnishes space for a good wagon road, and 
for four railway tracks and the interurban electric 
railway. 

The sea-wall tested. — Hardly had the sea-wall 




The Galvestun Causeway 



and the grade raising been finished before they were 
put to a practical test that proved their value. This 
test was the tropical hurricane of July 21, 1909. 
Although the wind attained a velocity of seventy- 
five miles an hour, no lives were lost within the 
limits of the city, and the damage to property was 
very slight. This victory over the elements pro- 
duced great rejoicing, and gave the people of Gal- 
veston an added sense of security and an increased 
confidence in the future of their city. 



THE STATE SINCE EECONSTEUCTION 365 

The commission form of city government. — Out 

of Galveston's disaster came what lias proved to be 
a real blessing in the form of a new sort of city 
government. Prior to the storm the city govern- 
ment consisted of a mayor and a city council. This 
form of government had never been successful in 
Galveston and, now in the hour of calamity, the 
people were unwilling to entrust to it the welfare 
of the city and the spending of the great sums neces- 
sary for protecting the city. They persuaded the 
legislature to allow them to establish a new form 
of government consisting of a board of five commis- 
sioners. 

All the power of the city was placed in the 
hands of these five men, and so well did they use 
it that they soon began to attract the attention 
of other cities. First Houston asked the legislature 
to give it the same form of government. Dallas 
followed, and then Fort Worth, A¥aco, Austin, and 
other Texas cities adopted the commission govern- 
ment. 

From Texas the new plan has spread to other 
states, and cities in every part of the country 
have followed Galveston's example. The commis- 
sion plan bids fair to become the American form 
of city government. 

Political parties in Texas. — It seems wise at this 
point to give some account of tlie political i)arties 
that are now playing a part in the public affairs of 



366 . A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

Texas, or that liave done so in the past. The two 
principal parties in Texas are the Democrats and 
the Republicans. 

The Democratic party and its work. — Since its 
return to power with the inauguration of Coke and 
Hubbard in 1874, the Democratic party has been in 
complete control of public affairs in Texas. This 
party, then, is the one that must be held responsible 
for the good and the bad in our laws, and for the 
administration and enforcement of these laws. On 
the whole, the state has been honestly and wisely 
governed. Public order has been maintained, and 
the state has enjoyed almost uninterrupted pros- 
perity. For this condition the Democrats are largely 
responsible. But it may well be doubted whether 
they have done all that might have been done for 
the growth of the state and for the upbuilding of 
our public schools and our higher institutions of 
learning. 

The Republican party.— In spite of its numerous 
defeats in state elections the Republican party has 
kept up its organization in this state and has always 
named candidates for governor and for most of the 
other state offices. Although these candidates for 
the higher offices are always defeated, the party 
usually elects a few members of the legislature. The 
vote polled by the party in Texas has varied 
greatly, but has seldom been less than fifty thousand 
and rarely more than one hundred thousand. In 



THE STATE SINCE EECONSTEUCTION 267 

1910, however, the vote was only twenty-six thou- 
sand, or a little more than one-seventh of the vote 
cast for the Democratic candidate for governor. 

Other parties. — During the seventies an organiza- 
tion of farmers, known as the Patrons of Husbandry, 
spread all over the country, including Texas. The 
local lodges were called "granges," and the move- 
ment was frequently spoken of as the "granger 
movement." The members of the organization 
became interested in political questions and were 
mainly instrumental in organizing what was known 
as the "Greenback" party, so called because it 
favored a large use of paper money and opposed the 
retirement of the greenbacks by the Federal govern- 
ment. The party gained strength in Texas until 
1882, when its candidate, Hon. George W. Jones, of 
Bastrop, polled a hundred and two thousand votes, 
against a vote of one hundred and fifty thousand 
for John Ireland, the Democratic candidate. From 
that time on, however, the party declined, and most 
of its members became members of the Populist 
party, which was now coming into prominence. 

The Populist party was closely connected with 
the Farmers' Alliance, a new organization of farm- 
ers that gradually absorbed the strength of the 
Grange. This party believed in the use of paper 
money instead of gold and silver, and thought the 
United States government should own and manage 
the railroads. It reached its maximum strength in 



268 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

1894 when its candidate, Judge Thomas L. Nugent, 
received a total of one hundred and fifty thousand 
votes, against two hundred thousand for Governor 
Culberson. In recent years the Farmers' Alliance 
and the Populist party have declined and are now 
almost unknown. 

Two other parties that have nominated candi- 
dates for office for several years are the Prohibition 
party, which believes in stopping the manufacture 
and sale of intoxicating liquors throughout the 
entire country, and the Socialist party, whose mem- 
bers believe that the government should own and 
carry on all productive industries, such as mines 
and factories. Neither party has polled a large vote 
in this state. 

The primary election law. — During the adminis- 
tration of Governor Lanham,^ in 1905, an important 
law was passed for controlling political parties and 
regulating elections. This was known as the Ter- 

^ S. W. T. Lanham was the last gallant ex-confederate 
soldier to occupy the governor's chair in Texas. He was a 
South Carolinian by birth, but came to Texas in 1866 at the 
age of twenty, bringing with him his young wife, whom he 
had married upon his return from the war. He settled at 
Weatherford, and after teaching school for a time, toolc up the 
practice of law. He was elected district attorney, and later 
served sixteen years in Congress. He was elected governor in 
1902, and was re-elected in 1904. At the close of his term 
of office he retired to his home in Weatherford^ where he died 
in 1908. 



THE STATE SINCE E^CONSTEUCTION 



269 



rell Election Law, from the fact that it was intro- 
duced into the House of Representatives by Judge 
A. W. Terrell,^ a member of the legislature from 
Travis county." 

It has two main objects. In the first place, its 

aim is to prevent the buying 
and selling of votes; and in 
the second place, its purpose 
is to give all members of a 
party an equal voice in nomi- 
nating candidates for office. 
The first object is accom- 
plished by requiring all vot- 
ers to register and pay a poll 
tax before the first of Febru- 
ary of each year. Each voter 
must pay his own poll tax 
with his own money, and 
must show his receipt at the 
polls when he offers his vote. 

The second object is accomplished by providing 
for primary elections for the purpose of selecting 
^candidates for office, instead of leaving their selec- 
tion to state and county conventions as was formerly 

^ No more interesting personage is to be found in Texas than 
Alexander W. Terrell. He was born in Virginia in 1827. His 
parents came to Texas in 1832, three years before the outbreak 
of the Texan revolution. He received his education at the 
University of Missouri, and has always been one of the strong- 
est supporters of the University of Texas. He held various 




Governor S. W. T. 

(1003-1007) 



Lanham 



270 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

the x^i'actice. As many men as care to may now 
become candidates for their j^arty's nomination. 
A primary election is then held and only members 
of the party are allowed to vote. The man receiving 
the highest number of votes is declared the party's 
candidate. The men nominated in this way for the 
various offices are voted on by all the voters in a 
second or final election. The primary election is 
held in July and the final election in November. 
The Democratic party is required by law to hold 
such a primary election. The smaller x)arties may 
do so if they choose, provided their vote for gov- 
ernor at the last preceding election was not less than 
ten thousand. AVliile this law is far from being 
perfect, it has done much to purify elections and 
to give the ordinary voter a voice in the control of 
his party. 

The election of 1906. — The first use made of the 
new law was in the election for the year 1906. There 
were four candidates for the democratic nomination, 
Judge C. K. Bell, of Fort Worth; Judge M. M. 
Brooks, of Dallas; Railroad Commissioner 0. B. 
Colquitt, and Thomas M. Campbell,^ of Palestine. 

offices in Texas, and when Cleveland became president for 
the second time, in 1893, he sent Judge Terrell to Constanti- 
nople as minister to Turke3^ In every position, he has served 
his country with a true devotion to the public welfare. 

^ Thomas Mitchell Campl)ell, the second native Texan to 
be elected governor, was born at Eusk on April 22, 1856. He 
attended Trinity University for a time but was forced to stop 



THE STATE SINCE RECONSTRUCTION 



271 



The latter received a plurality of the votes and was 
declared the nominee by the state convention which 
met in Dallas. He was elected at the general elec- 
tion in November. 

The election of 1910.— 
Again in 1910, there were 
four candidates for the dem- 
ocratic nomination. They 
were Attorney General R. 
V. Davidson, of Galveston; 
Hon. Cone Johnson, of Tyler; 
Hon. William Poindexter, of 
Cleburne, and Railroad Com- 
missioner O.B. Colquitt.^ Mr. 
Colquitt won the nomination 
by a large plurality, and was 
elected governor over his re- 
publican opponent by a ma- 
jority of one hundred and fifty thousand votes. 

school on account of financial difficulties at home. He studied 
law and was admitted to the bar in 1878. In 1891 he was 
appointed receiver for the International and Great Northern 
Eailroad, and was later made general manager of that road. 
He had never held a public office until he was elected governor 
in 1906. He was re-elected in 1908. Upon retiring from 
office in January, 1911, Governor Campbell removed with his 
family to his old home in Palestine, where he is now engaged 
in the practice of law. 

^ Though Oscar Branch Colquitt comes of old Virginia 
stock, he was born in the town of Camilla, Georgia, in 1861. 




Governor T. M. CAMrBELL 

(1907-1911) 



273 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



The prohibition question. — At the present time 
the question most keenly agitating the public mind 
in Texas is whether or not the existing local option 
laws shall be maintained, or shall be replaced by 

laws forbidding entirely the 
manufacture and sale of in- 
toxicating liquors within the 
limits of the state. Those 
who favor the latter method 
of dealing with the liquor 
traffic are known as state- 
wide prohibitionists. Some 
of those who oppose state- 
wide prohibition are in favor 
of the present local option 
system, by w h i c h each 
county or precinct can settle 
the question for itself, while 
others are opposed to all prohibitory laws. 

Twice during the last quarter of a century the 
people of Texas have been called upon to vote on 
this question. First in 1887, when a prohibition 
amendment to the state constitution was defeated 

At the age of sixteen he came to Texas with his parents and 
settled at Daingerfield. Here for a time he attended the old 
Daingerfield College, paying his board by making fires, chop- 
ping wood and caring for the stock. After leaving school he 
worked for a time at the Daingerfield railway station, and 
then found employment in a furniture factory. Later he went 
into the printing business and published a newspaper in Kauf- 




GovERXoE 0. B. Colquitt 
(1911- ) 



THE STATE SINCE RECONSTRUCTION 373 

by a majority of nearly one hundred thousand votes; 
the second time in 1911, when, after a stirring cam- 
paign, the amendment was beaten by about six 
thousand votes. 

Summary. — Texas was re-admitted to the Union 
in 1870, and the democratic party was returned to 
power with the inauguration of Coke and Hubbard 
in 1874. In 1876 the last step in the reconstruction 
of the state government took place when the present 
constitution was adopted. The governors under the 
new constitution brought about public order by 
punishing land forgers and by suppressing fen,ce 
cutting and other forms of violence. Governor 
Eoberts's policy of strict economy soon brought the 
expenses of the government within its income, and 
the state debt has since been almost entirely paid. 
The old capitol burned in 1881 and the new one, 
built at a cost of three million acres of land, was 
dedicated in 1888. In 1896 the United States 
Supreme Court decided the Greer county question 
by holding that the disputed territory belonged to 
Oklahoma. On account of many abuses on the part 
of the companies a demand grew up for the regula- 
tion of the railroads, and in 1891 Governor Hogg 
secured the creation of the railroad commission, 

man county. In 1895 he was elected to the state senate and 
served four years. In 1902 he was elected to succeed Judge 
Eeagan on the Eailroad Commission. He was re-elected in 
1908, but resigned in January, 1911, to become governor. 



274 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

with Senator Reagan as the first chairman. In 1899, 
1900, and 1902 the state suffered from the Brazos 
floods and the great storm at Galveston. The people 
of Galveston have rebuilt their city and protected it 
against future storms, and have given to the country 
the commission form of city government. The 
Terrell election law for the regulation of political 
parties and elections was first used in 1906. The 
prohibition amendment was defeated in 1887 and 
again in 1911. 

QUESTIONS 

1. When was Texas readmitted to the Union? 

2. AYlien did the democratic party regain control or the 
state government? Who was then elected governor? 

3. When was the present constitution drawn up and 
ratified ? 

4. What was the condition of the state's finances in 
1876? 

5. Tell of the offer of state bonds to certain railroads. 
How was this matter settled ? 

6. What motto did Governor Eoberts adopt? 

7. What changes were made during his term in the 
amount of the state debt and the tax rate? 

8. What brought about the fence cutting and how was it 
suppressed ? 

9. When did the old capitol burn? How was the new 
one paid for? Of what material was it built? 

10. What was the boundary between Texas and the Indian 
Territory as fixed by the treaty of 1819? 

11. How did the dispute arise over Greer county? How 
Avas it settled ? 



THE STATE SINCE EECONSTEUCTION 275 

12. Make a map showing the forks of the Ked Eiver and 
the location of the disputed territory. 

13. Who was the father of the Eailroad Commission law ? 
Tell what you know about him. 

14. What were some of the complaints against the railroads 
at the time the commission was created ? Who were the first 
commissioners? 

15. Tell of the fight made on the commission by those who 
opposed the regulation of the railroads. 

16. AYhat efi'orts has Texas made to suppress the trusts ? 

17. What were the causes of the war with Spain? What 
part did the people of Texas have in that war ? 

18. Tell of the great overflows on the Brazos river. What 
means are now being used to guard against future overflows? 

19. Give an account of the Galveston storm. What three 
measures have been adopted by Galveston to prevent future 
disasters of a similar kind? 

20. What new form of city government grew out of the 
Galveston disaster? Describe it. Tell of its spread to other 
cities. 

21. What form of government has your city or town? 

22. jSTame the leading political parties in Texas. AYhat 
parties that have been prominent have now passed away ? 

23. What law has been passed for the purpose o'f con- 
trolling political parties? What two objects does this law 
seek to accomplish? How? 

24. Give an account of the election of 1906 and 1910. 

25. What were the results of the two prohibition elections 
that have l)ecn hold in Texas? 



chaptp::r xi 

MATEEIAL DEVELOPMENT SINCE 1870 
1. INCEEASE IN POPULATION AND WEALTH 

The object of this chapter. — In the preceding 
Chapter an account was given of the leading events 
in the history of Texas during the last forty years. 
In this Chapter we must learn something of the 
growth during the same period of the state's popu- 
lation and material interests, its wealth, its indus- 
tries, and its ,commerce. 

Growth of population. — The population of the 
state in 1870 was eight hundred thousand. In 1910 
it was slightly less than four millions, or nearly five 
times as great as it was forty years before. In 1870 
there were eighteen states with a population greater 
than that of Texas; but in 1910 Texas stood fifth, 
fourteen states having been passed during the forty 
years. At the present time only New York, Penn- 
sylvania, Illinois, and Ohio have a larger population 
than has Texas, and there is a possibility that Texas 
may some day be the ' ' empire state ' ' of the Union. 

Character of the population. — In character the 
population of Texas is thoroughly cosmopolitan; 
that is, it is composed of many different kinds of 

276 



MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT 277 

people. About four-fifths of the people are white, 
and most of these are made up of native Texans or 
immigrants from other states of the Union. There 
are, however, a good many foreign immigrants, and 
of these the Mexicans, scattered through the Rio 
Grande region from El Paso to San Antonio and 
Brownsville, are the most numerous. Less numer- 
ous, but far more important than the Mexicans, are 
the Germans. These are found in many parts of 
the state. Still other foreign nations represented in 
our population are Bohemia, England, Austria, Ire- 
land, Italy, Sweden, and France, in about the order 
named. 

Growth of Texas cities. — Up to the present time 
Texas has not developed any large cities. As most 
of the people live on farms or depend on the soil 
for a living, the state is still classed as an agricul- 
tural community. But these conditions are rapidly 
changing. Several of the larger Texas cities are 
becoming important commercial and manufacturing 
centers, while smaller towns and cities are springing 
into existence on every side. Already thirty per 
cent of the people live in incorporated towns and 
cities, and the city population is increasing much 
more rapidly than the rural population. This drift 
to the cities is strikingly illustrated by the census 
returns for 1910. These figures show that during 
the last ten years our city population has increased 
at the rate of seventy-seven per cent, while the 



278 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

iii,crease for the remainder of the state was less than 
fourteen per cent. 

Galveston and San Antonio. — The most striking 
illustration of the rapid growth of our city popula- 
tion is found when we look at a few of the largest 
cities. 

In 1870, Galveston, with a population of less 
than fourteen thousand, was the largest city in 
the state, and the chief commercial center. In spite 
of the awful calamity that almost blotted out the 




The Dallas — Oak Cliff Viadl'ct Across the Trinity River Bottom 
(A part of the general plan for beautifying the city) 

city in 1900, its population in 1910 was nearly 
thirty-seven thousand. San Antonio was second in 
size in 1870, with a population of twelve thousand; 
in 1910 it had ninety-six thousand, a gain of seven 
hundred per cent. It was in 1910 our largest city, 
though probably not the most important commercial 
center of the state. 

Houston and Dallas. — The honor of being the most 
important commercial city in Texas doubtless 
belongs either to Houston or to Dallas. Houston is 
the older town, and has extensive railway connec- 



MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT 279 

tions, while Dallas lias experienced the more rapid 
growth, and is the trading center for the most popu- 
lous section of the state. Houston was founded 
soon after the battle of San Jacinto. In 1870 its 
population was nine thousand. In 1910 the census 
gave it nearly seventy-nine thousand, without 
including Houston Heights, Harrisburg, and other 
populous suburbs. That was a gain of nearly eight 
hundred per cent. Dallas, on the other hand, was 
only a straggling village of five hundred inhabitants 
in 1870, with no railroad within a hundred miles of 
it. In 1910, with ninety-two thousand inhabitants, 
it was our second largest city, and was one of the 
most important railroad and manufacturing centers 
in the state. 

Fort Worth and El Paso.— Fort Worth and El 
Paso are two other cities that hardly existed before 
1870. The former is now Houston's rival in popula- 
tion, as well as her chief rival for first honors as a 
railway center. Fort Worth's growth during the 
last ten years has been due in large part to the open- 
ing of the great meat-packeries established there in 
1903. The city's population in 1900 was twenty- 
six thousand, while in 1910 it was seventy-three 
thousand, a gain of one hundred and seventy-five 
per cent. This decade was also the period of El 
Paso's most rapid development. Her population 
increased from less than sixteen thousand to more 



280 A SCHOOL HISTOKY OF TEXAS 

tliau thirty-nine thousand, or a gain of one hundred 
and forty-seven per cent. 

Austin and Waco. — Austin and Waco are older 
than the three cities last mentioned. Their growth 
has been steady but not so remarkable. They each 
had a population of about four thousand in 1870, 
while in 1910 Austin had thirty thousand inhabi- 
tants and Waco twenty-six thousand. 

Civic improvement. — With the increase in wealth 
and population has come an increase in civic pride 
and an improvement in the appearance and character 
of the larger ,cities of the state. The streets have 
been better paved and better lighted, and water, 
sewer, and street railway conveniences have been 
extended and greatly improved. Parks have been 
laid out and beautified. Play grounds for the 
children have been established and supplied with 
swings and other apparatus for games and sports. 
New school buildings are gradually replacing the 
unsightly buildings of earlier times, and many 
towns and cities have good libraries which the 
people are each year putting to a larger use. With 
the increase in the value of city lots business men 
have found it profitable to build taller buildings, 
until now all the larger cities boast of their "sky- 
scrapers," some of which attain a height of more 
than twenty stories. 

Growth of taxable wealth. — Along with the 
growth in the population of the state has gone an 




Corpus Curisti 



Fort Worth 
Galveston 



283 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

even greater increase of wealth. Thus, in 1870 the 
assessed wealth of the state amounted to only one 
hundred and seventy million dollars. In 1890 it had 
increased to eight hundred and fifty million dollars, 
a gain of four hundred per cent in twenty years. 
In 1910 it was two billion four hundred million 
dollars, or almost three times the assessed values 
for 1890. Not only has the total wealth increased 
very greatly, but the average amount of property 
owned by each inhabitant is now three times as 
valuable as it was in 1875. 

Causes for the increase of wealth. — This large 
in,crease in the wealth of the state is not altogether 
due to the thrift and industry of the people. Some 
of the increase is more apparent than real, due to the 
fact that property is now taxed at more nearly its 
full value, than it was in earlier years. This change 
in the practice of taxation is due in large measure 
to the "full-rendition law," passed during Governor 
Campbell's administration. This law requires 
property owners to tell the tax assessor 'the real 
value of their property. Another cause of the large 
increase in assessed values is the rapid rise in the 
value of farming lands. The supply of good unim- 
proved; lands is now nearly exhausted, and the 
demand for land is steadily increasing as the popu- 
lation grows. As a result of the increasing demand 
and the diminishing supply, land values have risen 
rapidly and are sure to go higher in the future. 



MATEEIAL DEVELOPMENT 283 

2. DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Conditions favorable to agriculture. — For many 
years past farming has been the leading industry of 
Texas, and it will doubtless continue to be so for a 
long time to come. This results naturally from the 
fine fertile lands of the state and the favorable 
seasons "for growing and harvesting the crops. As 
the state is very large in area and possesses a very 
great variety of soils and climates, almost all kinds 
of crops can be successfully grown within its bor- 
ders. Thus wheat and other cereals do well in the 
northern part of the state and in the Panhandle, 
while rice and sugar cane and the semi-tropical 
fruits, such as figs and oranges, are grown in the 
Gulf coast region. Cotton does well in almost every 
section of the state, and deserves mention as the 
most important crop produced. 

Cotton culture. — In the early history of agricul- 
ture in Texas, cotton growing was confined mainly 
to the eastern and southern parts of the state and 
to the lands lying along the creeks and rivers. It 
was not then believed that the prairie lands were 
suited to raising cotton. During the seventies and 
early eighties, however, it was discovered that the 
prairie lands were well adapted to cotton growing, 
and as a result the black land country in the .central 
part of the state became the greatest cotton produc- 
ing region in the world, and Texas quickly took 
rank as the leading cotton state of the Union. Since 



284 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



that time tlie area devoted to cotton raising has 
steadily increased. In 1910 ten million acres of 
Texas lands were planted in cotton, and the yearly 
yield is from three to four million bales. The 
average value of the cotton crop for a year, not 
including the cotton seed, is about one hundred and 
fifty million dollars. 

The boll weevil. — At one time 
the cotton industry in Texas was 
seriously threatened by the rav- 
ages of the boll weevil. This pest 
came into the state from Mexico 
about the year 1900 and has since 
spread, not only over the cotton 
lands of Texas, but over all the 
cotton region of the United 
States, as far east as Mississippi 
and Alabama. By the use of 
early maturing varieties of cotton 
and of better methods of cultiva- 
tion the farmers have learned to 
produce good crops in spite of the presence of the 
boll w^eevil, and, except in rainy seasons, the crop 
usually escapes with only slight injury from this 
source. 

The cotton seed. — An important addition to the 
value of the cotton crop was made some thirty years 
ago, when a method was discovered of extracting 
the oil from cotton seed. Prior to that time cotton 




A Boll Weevil 
(Greatly enlarged) 



MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT 285 

seed were practically worthless, and in many cases 
the disposition of the decaying seed was an actual 
expense to the cotton ginners. Now, the seed are 
worth about twenty-five dollars a ton, and add 
about forty million dollars a year to the value of 
the farmers' crop. 

The grain crop. — Although corn and the small 
grains have long been grown in the state in consid- 
erable quantities, Texas cannot be said to rank as 
a great grain-producing state. The acreage devoted 
to cotton culture in the state is equal to that devoted 
to all the cereals combined and the total value of 
the annual grain crop is less by fifty million dollars 
than the value of the cotton crop. 

Corn. — Of the grains grown in Texas, corn is by 
far the most important both in quantity and value. 
In fact, the corn crop is worth about four times as 
much as all the other cereal crops combined. It is 
worth something more than one hundred million 
dollars each year to the Texas farmer. Wheat and 
oats are grown principally in the northern part of 
the state and the crops produced annually are 
valued at from ten to twenty million dollars each. 

Rice growing. — It is in the production of rice, 
however, that Texas has made the most remarkable 
advance during recent years. Twenty years ago 
there was practically no rice grown within the state. 
Now Texas produces nearly three times as much 
rice as all the other states of the Union combined, 



286 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



except Louisiana. The crop is grown on the level 
lands of the coastal plane, where water can be had 
for flooding the fields during the growing season. 
Great pumping plants have been built on the 
streams, and immense irrigation ditches, sometimes 
many miles in length, carry the water to the farms. 
Beaumont and Houston are the principal markets 
for the Texas rice grower. 

The forage crops. — Considerable progress has also 
been made in the production of hay and other 

forage crops. The 
g r o w^ i n g of these 
crops has been made 
necessary by the dis- 
appearance of the 
open range and the 
introduction of the 
finer breeds of cattle. 
As a result, thousands 
of acres are now being sown to alfalfa and other hay 
crops, while in the western part of the state sorghum, 
milo maize, and kaffir corn are being extensively 
grown for stock feed. 

Fruit growing and market gardening. — Truck 
gardening and fruit growing is another industry 
that has made great progress in Texas in recent 
years. The mild winters and early springs in this 
state make it possible for the south Texas truck 
growers to reach the market ahead of the producers 




Rice Iebigation in South Texas 



MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT 287 

from other sections of the country and to secure 
thereby the highest price the market affords. Some 
idea of the extent of the fruit and truck business 
may be gained from the fa^ct that in 1908 more than 
fourteen thousand car loads of fruits and vegetables 
were shipped from the gardens and orchards of 
Texas. Counting twenty cars to the train, that 
would make a total of seven hundred and twenty- 
five solid train-loads of fruit, or a single train 
between twenty and thirty miles in length. 

Irrigation. — During the last twenty years Texas 
has made rapid progress in the use of the waters 
of its streams and wells for purposes of irrigation. 
The use of irrigation was only just beginning in 
Texas twenty years ago, but statistics collected for 
the year 1909 show that about six hundred thousand 
acres were then being irrigated. Nearly half of 
this acreage is sown to rice in the southern part of 
the state, while the other half consists of arid lands 
in the west, principally along the Rio Grande and 
the Pecos Rivers. The time is probably not far 
distant when all the regular flow of the Texas rivers 
will be utilized for irrigation purposes, and great 
reservoirs will doubtless be built to store the flood 
waters of the spring months for use during the dry 
season of the Texas summers. 

Better methods of agriculture. — Much is being 
done to spread among the farmers a knowledge of 
scientific agriculture and of the best methods of 



288 



A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 



cultivating, harvesting, packing, and marketing 
their .crops. The state, through the board of direc- 
tors of the Agricultural and Mechanical College, 
maintains ten or a dozen experiment farms and 
spreads the knowledge thus gained among the 
farmers by means of lectures and printed bulletins. 




Boys' Corn Club, Tylek 
(United States Department of Agriculture) 

A similar work is being done in the state by the 
United States Department of Agriculture. 

Farmers' aid societies. — In addition to these 
official agencies there are a number of private organ- 
izations and societies that are doing much toward 
the improvement of farming methods. Thirty or 
forty years ago the Patrons of Husbandry, or ' ' The 



MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT gS^ 

Grange," as it was usually called, had many local 
cliapters and a large membership in Texas. It was 
followed during the eighties and nineties by the 
Farmers' Alliance. More recently the Farmers' 
Union has become a powerful factor in the agricul- 
tural affairs of the state. All of these organiza- 
tions have had for their primary purpose the better- 
ment of the conditions of life of the farming .classes. 
Other organizations worthy of mention are the truck 
and fruit growers' associations, which assist the 
grower in packing and marketing his crop; the 
Farmers' Congress, a gathering of men interested 
in agriculture, which meets annually at the Agricul- 
tural and Mechanical College; and the boys' corn 
clubs, which have been formed in many parts of 
the state under the supervision of the Department 
of Agriculture to stimulate the interest of the farmer 
boys in the best methods of corn culture. 

3. THE LIVE STOCK INDUSTRY 

The cattle industry. — Cattle raising was the first 
industry in Texas to gain commercial importance. 
The broad prairies furnished pasturage for vast 
herds of "long horn" cattle in the early days when 
wire fences were unknown and grass was free to 
all. Before the days of the railroad cattle could be 
made to transport themselves to market, and, as 
there was almost no accessible market for farm crops, 
cattle constituted the principal money-producing 



290 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

product of the state. New Orleans and Galveston 
were the markets for the cattle of the southeastern 
part of the state, but for the great prairie regions 
of the central and western portions of the state, the 
markets were in the North, and the cattle were 
driven overland in great herds, sometimes as many 
as five and ten thousand in a single herd. Regular 
trails were established, the most famous being the 
old "Chisholm Trail" leading from Fort Worth 
through the Indian Territory into Kansas. This 
movement of Texas cattle "up the trail" began soon 
after the close of the Civil War and reached its 
height in the early seventies. At that time it is 
estimated that as many as a half million steers were 
driven north in a single season. With the opening 
of railroad connection with the Northern markets 
this overland movement of cattle began to decline 
and had about disappeared by 1890. The railroads 
are now used instead of the slower but more pictur- 
esque cowboy and cattle trail. 

Breeding fine cattle. — As the population and the 
demand for land increased, the open range and the 
round-up began to give w^ay to the wire fence and 
the inclosed pasture. The larger ranches, in turn, 
have been cut up in many parts of the state into 
small stock farms and cotton fields. This process 
of enclosing the ranges and subdividing the large 
ranches has benefited the cattle industry in two 
ways. In the first place, a larger number of cattle 



MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT 291 

,can be cared for on the same amount of land, where 
hay and other forage crops are raised for winter 
feed. In the second place, the stockmen are able to 
improve the breed of their cattle, a thing that was 
almost impossible as long as the cattle were allowed 
to run at large over the open range. 

Horses. — For a long time prior to the coming of 
the Anglo-American colonists, the prairies of Texas 




Successors of tiu; •■Lu.nuuuk.n''" 

were stocked with wild horses. These mustang 
ponies, as they were called, were small in body but 
were wonderfully tough ^and wiry, and were well 
suited to the uses of the cowboys. But with the 
development of the farming industry large draft 
animals were needed and there has come about a 
gradual change in the character of the horses pro- 
duced. The mustang pony, like the long-horn steer, 
is practically a thing of the past, though consider- 



293 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

able numbers of them are still bred and shipped to 
New York where they are prime favorites for use 
in playing polo. Texas is now third in the number 
and value of the horses produced, Illinois and Iowa 
ranking first and second. 

Mules. — For a long time Missouri was the leading 
state in the production of mules, but as far back as 
1900 Missouri was forced to yield that distinction 
to Texas. But the average jDrice of the Missouri 
mule is somewhat greater than the price of his 
Texas cousin. A few years ago mules were imported 
into Texas by the train load; now the local market 
is fully supplied with home-grown mules, and many 
are sold to other states, and even to foreign lands. 

Sheep. — The sheep industry in Texas reached its 
maximum development about 1890. At that time 
Texas was the leading wool-producing state in the 
Union. During the next ten years, however, there 
came a sharp decline in the number and value of 
the sheep owned by Texas stockmen. This decline 
was due, in part, to the cutting up of the sheep 
ranches into farms. 

Goats. — The goat industry, on the other hand, is 
rapidly increasing, and some stockmen expect to 
see it outrank the sheep business. The reason given 
by one writer is that the Angora goat "has found 
among the hills of Texas, which have heretofore 
been considered as waste lands, a natural home, 
food to his taste, and a climate adapted to his hap- 



MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT 293 

piness. The animal is hardy, can adapt himself to 
almost any condition, eats what other animals pass 
by, requires little care or attention, is easily handled, 
and is withal most profitable." San Angelo and 
San Antonio are the leading markets for wool and 
mohair. 

Hog raising. — Probably no domestic animal can 
be grown with less trouble and with more profit than 
the hog. This industry in Texas has grown very 
rapidly since the packing houses at Fort Worth 
have furnished a stable market for pork. The old 
"razor back," lean and athletic and voracious 
beyond belief, has, like the long-horn steer and the 
mustang pony, become a thing of the past, and in 
his place we have the Berkshire, Poland-China, and 
other well-known breeds. Only three states in the 
Union, all situated in the corn belt, surpass Texas 
as hog producing states. 

4. DEVELOPMENT OF MEANS OF COMMUNICATION 

Early means of transportation. — Prior to the rail- 
road era goods were transported to and from market 
in ox-wagons, and "wagoning," or "freighting," 
as it was called, was a regular occupation in which 
a large number of teamsters were engaged. The 
freight charges were about twenty times as great as 
they are on the railroads today. The principal mar- 
kets were Galveston and Jefferson, and from many 
parts of the state it took two or three months to 



294 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

make a trip to market and return. It was this lack 
of transportation facilities more than anything else 
that prevented the development of the central and 
northern parts of the state until the coming of the 
railroads at the close of reconstruction. The rail- 
road builder is the advance agent of civilization. 

Stage travel. — Travel in the early days was accom- 
plished either by private .conveyance or by means 
of stage coaches drawn by teams of four horses or 
mules. The stage-fare was ten cents a mile, or about 
four times the average rate now charged by the 
railways. There were many regular stage lines in 
the state, some of them two or three hundred miles 

in length, while 
still longer lines 
connected the 
Texas lines with 
Memphis and St. 

A Stage Coach Louis. The long- 

est line, however, 
and one of the longest stage lines ever established, 
was the mail line from San Antonio to San Diego, 
California. It took twenty-five days, traveling night 
and day, to make the trip, and the fare for the trip 
one way was two hundred dollars. Twenty years 
later the engineers of the Southern Pacific railroad 
mapped out the line for that road along the route 
followed by the old San Diego stage. 




MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT 295 

Beginning of railroad building. — As we have seen 
in a former Chapter, railroad building in Texas 
began during the ten years between 1850 and 1860. 
There had been earlier attempts to build, but the 
necessary money could not be raised and they all 
ended in failure. Even in the fifties progress was 
very slow, because of financial difficulties, and only 
about five hundred miles of track had been com- 
pleted before the outbreak of the Civil War. Nearly 
all of this mileage consisted of short lines centering 
in Houston and Galveston. 

Effect of the Civil War. — Not only was there no 
new railroad building during the Civil War and the 
early years of the reconstruction period, but there 
was an actual decrease in the mileage operated, for 
one road was torn up by the military forces, and 
two more were abandoned for lack of patronage and 
for want of funds to keep the road-beds in repair. 
One line, the Texas and New Orleans, from Houston 
to Orange, was abandoned entirely and was not 
rebuilt until 1876, eleven years after the close of 
the war. 

Revival of railway building. — Active railroad 
building began again in 1868, and rapid progress 
was made during the next five years. Then came 
the great financial panic of 1873, and during the 
three or four years of hard times that followed very 
little building was done. But by 1880, the state 
had three thousand miles of railway in actual opera- 



296 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

tion. That amount was almost doubled during the 
next two years, and the present railway mileage of 
Texas is about fifteen thousand miles. This is a 
larger mileage than that of any other state in the 
Union, but on account of the great area of Texas, 
there are still many parts of the state that are sadly 
in need of railroads. 

Public aid to the railroads. — Before passing from 
the subject of railway building a word should be 
said of the aid given by the public to hasten rail- 
way construction. Besides the large donations 



Early Passenger Train 



raised by private subscription, counties and cities 
sometimes voted to give their bonds to assist the 
companies in building their lines. Altogether, 
somewhat more than a million dollars of county and 
city bonds were so donated. Another method of 
aiding the railroads was by lending them money 
from the state school fund. Nearly two million dol- 
lars were loaned in this way prior to the Civil War. 
A part of these loans was afterwards lost, but most 
of them have been repaid with interest by the rail- 
roads. At one time the legislature passed a law 



MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT 29? 

granting state bonds to certain railroads, but, as 
already explained, the bonds were never issued, and 
lands were granted instead. But by far the most 
important aid given to the railways was the public 
lands granted to them by the state. The railroad 
companies were allowed to survey thirty-two sec- 
tions of public land for every mile of track built by 
them. Every alternate section so surveyed became 
the property of the railway company, while the 
other sections were given to the public schools. This 




l''iiUTY Years Agu and To-day 



policy of granting lands to railways was discon- 
tinued in 1882. Altogether nearly thirty-six million 
acres of land were patented to the railroads, but 
large amounts of it were afterwards forfeited by 
them because of their failure to comply with the 
laws under which the grants were made. 

River improvement. — Not only was the state 
greatly interested in j^roviding railway facilities in 
the early days, but by improving the rivers and 
harbors it also actively engaged in efforts to pro- 
mote water transportation. During the period of 
industrial development just before the Civil War 



398 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

the state spent about three hundred thousand dol- 
lars in clearing the rivers of snags and sand bars, 
and small steamers ascended the Sabine and the 
Trinity for long distances and carried to market a 
considerable portion of the cotton crop of the adjoin- 
ing counties. During the confusion of the war, how- 
ever, the .channels again became obstructed and 
navigation nearly ceased. The rapid building of 
railways after 1870 furnished other means of trans- 
portation, and the state did not again enter seriously 
upon the task of river improvement. In more recent 
years, however, the United States government has 
taken up the work, and is spending large sums on 
some of the Texas rivers. 

Harbor improvements. — In harbor improvement 
the Federal government has accomplished much for 
the ports along the Texas coast, including Sa- 
bine Pass, Port Arthur, Port Lavaca, and Corpus 
vjhristi. 

But the most notable suc,cess that has yet been 
attained is the improvement of the Galveston 
harbor. Here the government has spent some twelve 
million dollars in building the jetties and dredging 
the harbor. Galveston is now the second export city 
in the country, doing a larger export business than 
Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore combined. 

The Houston ship canal. — One of the important 
enterprises undertaken by the United States govern- 



MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT 



299 



ment in Texas is the opening of a ship canal extend- 
ing through Galveston Bay and up Buffalo Bayou, a 
distance of forty-six miles, to the city of Houston. 
Considerable sums of money have been spent on 
the canal and a depth of nine feet and more has 
been secured. The Harris County Navigation Dis- 
trict has voted a million and a quarter dollars for 
continuing the work and Congress has given an 




r.ii.yright by The E. W. Irish Photo Co. 
TuRXiNG Basix, Houston Ship Caxal 



equal amount. A large turning basin, a quarter of 
a mile across, has been dug a few miles below Hous- 
ton, and at that point the city has built free docks 
and warehouses for the use of shippers. Houston 
is already a great railroad center, and if it can 
secure deep water so that great ocean-going vessels 
can come up to its wharves, it will become one of 
the greatest commercial cities in the country. 

The good roads movement. — Until recently very 



300 



A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 



little attention was given to the question of building 
permanent highways in the state, but at the present 
time there is not a state in the Union that is giving 
more thought or spending more money for good 
roads than Texas is doing. This movement was 
stimulated by a law which was passed in 1907 

allowing counties 
and parts of coun- 
ties to organize 
themselves into road 
districts and to sell 
bonds for the pur- 
pose of building 
roads. Since that 
time a large number 
of road districts 
have been formed 
and several million 
dollars of bonds 

How Good Roahs akk Made 

(Near Abilene) liaVC bcCU SOld aud 

the money put into good macadamized roads. 




5. MINING AND MANUFACTUEING 

Minerals produced in Texas. — The most important 
mineral products of Texas are coal, iron, quicksilver, 
and crude oil and natural gas. The principal coal 
mines are at Thurber, Strawn, Eock Greek, and 
Bridgeport in the northwestern part of the state, and 



MATEEIAL DEVELOPMENT 



301 



the annual product is valued at about two million 
dollars. Lignite, wliicli is an inferior kind of coal, 
is produced in large quantities near Rockdale and 
Milano and in many other parts of the state. For 
many years a small quantity of iron has been pro- 
duced near Jefferson, and a furnace has been run 
most of the time within the walls of the state peni- 
tentiary at Rusk. The industry has 
developed slowly on account of the 
difficulty of securing cheap coke for 
fuel and the limestone necessary in 
smelting the ore. Arrangements 
have recently been made for ship- 
ping the iron ores from east Texas 
by way of Galveston to the great 
smelters in Pennsylvania. In Brew- 
ster county, in the mountainous 
country west of the Pecos River, 
quicksilver mines have been worked 
since 1897, and are the second best 
producers in the United States. 
Since the discovery of oil at Beau- 
mont in 1901, Texas has been one of the leading oil 
producing states in the Union. Valuable fields of 
oil have since been discovered at Sour Lake, Bat- 
son, Saratoga, Humble, and other places in the 
coastal plane near Houston and Beaumont, and at 
Henrietta and Wichita Falls in the northwestern 
part of the state. Natural gas- from the Henrietta 




An Oil Gusher, 
Beaumont 



302 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

oil field is being piped into Fort Worth and Dallas, 
where it is used for fuel. 

Growth of manufacturing. — The mannfacturing 
industries have developed slowly because of the 
lack of cheap fuel and of cheap, well-trained labor 
to handle the machinery. With the development of 
our coal and oil industries the fuel problem is being- 
solved, and the gowth of the cities is furnishing an 
increasing supply of skilled labor. As a result there 
has been a rapid growth during the last few years 
in all lines of the manufacturing business. In 1909 
the total capital invested in manufacturing enter- 
prises in Texas amounted to over two hundred and 
sixteen million dollars, and they gave employment 
to about eighty thousand persons. Dallas and 
Houston are the leading manufacturing cities. The 
most important products manufactured are flour 
and grist-mill products; cotton seed oil, meal, and 
hulls; produ,cts of lumber and planing mills; meat 
products from the packing houses; railroad cars; 
and the products of the printing and publishing 
houses. 

The lumber industry. — This is one industry that 
has reached its largest proportions and will grad- 
ually decline as the fine forests in the southeastern 
part of the state are felled and sawed into lumber. 
These forests of yellow pine are among the most 
valuable in the entire country, but at the present 
rate of cut it is estimated that all the old trees will 



MATERIAL DEA^ELOPMENT 



303 



be gone within the next twenty-five or thirty years. 
It is very important, therefore, that all the young- 
trees should be protected from fire and from the 
woodman's ax nntil 
they reach maturi- 
ty, and steps should 
be taken to re-forest 
the areas from 
which all the timber 
has already been 
cut. As a result of 
the growing scarcity 
of the timber sup- 
ply, the price of 
lumber has doubled 
within the last 
twenty years. 

Summary. — Dur- 
ing the forty years 
since T e x a s was 
re-admitted to the 
Union, its popula- 
tion has increased 
from eight hundred 

thousand to nearly four million. The state has moved 
up from the nineteenth to the fifth among the states 
of the Union. The population is made up of people 
from every section of the United States and from 
many foreign coutries. Of these the Mexicans and 



' ,''^* 


■■^ 


^_jj- 




:,-i 


C^^ 


m''-'M 








- *' i 


' <-• •♦. 


• ■ •:■ ■ !> 














n 

A' '3 




'v'iJV; 


>t. ■ . ■ , 



I'iNE Forest ix East Texas 



304 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

Germans are most numerous. In recent years tliere 
has been a very rapid growth of the cities, and thirty 
persons out of every hundred now live in incorpo- 
rated cities and towns. San Antonio, Dallas, Hous- 
ton, and Fort Worth are the four leading cities, while 
El Paso, Galveston, Austin, and Waco have a popula- 
tion of more than twenty-five thousand each. With 
the growth of the cities has come an increase in civic 
pride, and many improvements have been made in 
the appearance and the comforts of the cities. Tax- 
able wealth has increased even faster than popula- 
tion, and in 1910 it was about fifteen times what it 
was in 1870. Farming is the leading industry of 
the state, while stock raising, manufacturing, and 
mining give employment to a large number of 
people and contribute much to the wealth of the 
state. Texas is the leading state in the production 
of cotton, cattle, and mules. It ranks high in the 
production of fruits, rice, crude oil, and quicksilver, 
and in the number and value of its horses, hogs, 
sheep, and goats. Texas also ranks first in railway 
mileage, a condition naturally resulting from the 
state's great area. The building of railways began 
before 1860, but it was stopped for nearly ten years 
by the Civil War. The period of most rapid build- 
ing was from 1879 to 1883. The railroad companies 
were aided by contributions from private persons, 
by gifts of city and county bonds, by loans from 
the state school funds, and by grants of public lands, 



MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT 305 

usually at the rate of sixteen sections for every mile 
of track built. Altbougli Texas is far behind as a 
manufacturing state, labor and fuel conditions have 
improved and rapid progress is now being made. 
In the eastern part of the state are very valuable 
forests of yellow pine, but they are rapidly being 
cut, and the price of lumber has steadily risen. The 
preservation of our timber supply is now a pressing 
problem. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What was the population of Texas in ISTO ? In 1910 ? 
What was the state's rank in population at those dates? 

2. From which states and foreign countries has the popu- 
lation of Texas come? What per cent of the population is 
white? What are the most important foreign races repre- 
sented ? Where do they live ? 

3. Are you a native of the state? From what state or 
foreign country did your family come? See how many states 
are represented in your class. 

4. What are the eight largest cities in Texas ? What was 
the population of each in 1870 and in 1910? 

5. What is the population of your city or nearest town? 
When was it settled ? 

6. Can you find out how large it was in 1870? In 1890? 
In 1900? 

7. What are its leading industries ? 

8. Which is growing the fastest, the population of the 
cities or of the country districts? Can you think of any rea- 
sons for this? 

9. What improvements are heing made in the appearance 
of the cities and their public buildings ? 



306 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

10. What was the assessed wealth of Texas in 1870? In 
1890? In 1910? 

11. What was the average wealth for each person at those 
dates ? 

13. What are some of the reasons for the great increase in 
wealth ? 

13. What is the state's leading industry ? 

14. AVhat are the most important crops in Texas ? 

15. What is the extent and value of the cotton crop? 
What use is now made of cotton seed ? How were they 
formerly disposed of? 

IG. Tell what you know of the corn crop. Of the wheat 
and oat crops. 

17. How is rice grown, and in what part of the state? 

18. AVhat advantage has the Texas fruit and truck grower 
over those of other states ? 

19. What fruits are grown for the market in your county? 
When do they ripen and where are they shipped to ? 

20. Why was cattle raising the earliest money-producing 
industry of Texas? 

21. Where were the markets for Texas cattle in the early 
days? How were they taken to market? Where are the mar- 
kets now ? And how are they shipped ? 

22. How does Texas rank as a horse hreeding state ? As a 
mule state? 

23. What do you know of the sheep and goat industries 
in Texas? Which of the live stock industries is carried on 
in your county? 

24. How were goods transported in the early days in 
Texas? At what price? 

25. Tell of stage travel in those days. When did rail- 
way huilding hegin in Texas? 

26. What was the eff(>ct of the Civil War on the rail- 



MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT 307 

way business? When did raihva}' l;uilding ))egin again after 
the war? 

27. What Avcrc tlie different sorts of aid received by the 
railways to lielj) tliem in building their lines? 

28. What has been done toward making the Texas rivers 
navigable. 

29. Tell of the present good roads movement. What has 
your county done along this line? 

30. What are the chief mineral products of Texas ? A^licre 
are the mines located? Do you know of any inines that are 
being operated in your part of the state? 

31. What difficulties have been in the way of our manu- 
facturing enterprises ? 

32. AVhat are the principal products manufactured in the 
state? What are the leading factory cities? 

33. Are there an}' factories in your town or county? 

34. Tell what you know of the lumber industry of eastern 
Texas. 



CHAPTER XII 

EDUCATION AND PUBLIC CHAEITY 

The object of this chapter. — Tlie object of this 
chapter is to give a brief account of what Texas 
has done and is doing to educate its children and to 
care for the helpless and unfortunate classes. The 
subject divides itself into four parts: (1) the public 
free school system; (2) the state's higher institu- 
tions of learning; (3) the private educational insti- 
tutions; and (4) the state's charitable and penal 
institutions. 

The need of public free schools. — It is a well- 
settled principle that the state should provide free 
schools for the education of all the children living 
within its borders. In a free country practically 
all men are voters, and they must have some educa- 
tion in order to know how to vote intelligently 
and to discharge their other duties as citizens. We 
cannot be sure that good men will be elected to office 
and that wise laws will be passed if the voters them- 
selves are either ignorant or corrupt. This was well 
understood by the fathers of Texas when they 
stated in their declaration of independence, as one 

308 



EDUCATION AND PUBLIC CHARITY 



309 



of the causes of the revolution, that Mexico had 
failed to establish a system of public education, and 
then added that "it is an axiom in political science 
that unless a people are educated and enlightened 
it is idle to expect the continuance of civil liberty 
or the capacity for self-government." The same 
sentiment was well expressed by President Mira- 
beau B. Lamar when he said, "Cultivated mind is 




Class in Agricultdre, Bonham High School 

the guardian genius of democracy. It is the only 
dictator that freemen acknowledge and the only 
security that freemen desire." 

Early attempts to establish a public school 
system. — In the constitution drawn up in March, 
1836, a month before the battle of San Jacinto, it 
was made the duty of the congress of the republic 
to provide by law for a system of public free schools. 
But the new government was so hard pressed for 
money and was so beset with dangers and difficul- 



310 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

ties on every side that it was unable to give mucli 
attention to the subject of education. In 1839, how- 
ever, ,congress, upon the advice of President Lamar, 
gave to each organized county, as an endowment 
for its free schools, three leagues of public land, and 
another league was added the next year, making a 
total of nearly eighteen thousand acres. But so 
great was the confusion of the time that little prog- 
ress was made until after Texas became a state of 
tlie Union. The constitution of the state, adopted in 
1845, provided that the legislature should establisli 
a system of free schools, but the sparseness of the 
population and the confusion caused by the Mexican 
War resulted in another long delay. 

Development of the school system. — Finally in 
1854 Governor Elisha M. Pease persuaded the legis- 
lature to set aside for the schools two million dollars' 
worth of the United States bonds that Texas had 
received in partial payment for her claim to the 
eastern half of New Mexico. With the income from 
these bonds the state was able to begin a system of 
public schools, which made fair progress until inter- 
rupted by the Civil War. After the war was over 
another start was made, and by 1875 a hundred and 
twenty thousand pupils were enrolled in the public 
schools. 

Since that time the schools have made very 
substantial progress. In 1910 over eight hundred 
and twenty thousand children were enrolled in the 



EDUCATlOiM AND PUBLIC CHARITY 311 

public schools of the state, and the financial condi- 
tion of the schools was greatly improved. 

The permanent school fund. — In one particular 
the school system of Texas surpasses that of any 
other state in the Union. Its permanent endow- 
ment in lands and bonds is probably the largest 
permanent school fund in the world.^ This fortunate 
condition resulted from the fact that when Texas 
entered the Union it was allowed to keep its public 
lands, instead of giving them to the United States 
government, and the state has given these lands in 
large quantities to the public schools. For example, 
when the state gave lands to railroad companies 
to encourage them to build their lines, it required 
them to survey two sections of land for every sec- 
tion that they were to receive. One of these was 
given to the railroads and the other w^as given to 
the public schools. Finally, by the constitution of 
1876, one-half of all the public land remaining was 
given to the schools, and other lands were added 
by the legislature a little later on. Much of these 
lands have been sold and the money has been 
invested in interest bearing bonds which are held 
by the state treasurer for the benefit of the 
schools. 



^In 1910 the total value of the permanent school fund was 
estimated at the enormous sum of eighty-three million dollars. 
This total was made up of the following items : 



313 A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS 

The available school fund. — The available school 
fund is the fund that is used each year for the sup- 
port of the schools. In 1910 it amounted to thirteen 
million dollars. About one-half of it comes from 
the state and the other half from the counties and 
the local school districts. The state's half is in part 
derived from the interest on the bonds and land 
notes belonging to the permanent school fund, and 
in part from certain taxes levied and collected un- 
der state law. These taxes are a poll-tax of one dol- 
lar paid by all men between twenty-one and sixty 
years of age, and a tax of twenty cents on each one 
hundred dollars' worth of property owned in the 
state. One-fourth of the money received from a 
state tax on certain occupations, for example, keep- 
Value of lands unsold $ 4,000,000 

Interest bearing land notes given by purchasers. . . 49,000,000 

Interest bearing bonds in the state treasury 19,000,000 

Lands and bonds held by counties . 11,000,000 



Total $83,000,000 

The school lands are sold on long time payments and the 
purchaser pays interest on what he owes for the land at the 
rate of three per cent. The interest as paid becomes part 
of the available school fund and is used for the support of 
the schools, but the principal when paid is invested in inter- 
est bearing bonds and becomes a part of the permanent fund. 
The lands and bonds held by the counties were given to them 
by the state, beginning with the grant of four leagues to each 
county in 1839-1840. 



EDUCATION AND PUBLIC CHARITY 313 

ing a store, is also added to the state's available 
school fund. A part of the other half of the avail- 
able fund comes from the lands and bonds held by 
the counties, but a far larger part of it comes from 
the taxes which the people in the local school dis- 
tricts have voted upon themselves. 

Defects of our school system. — We must not sup- 
pose that Texas has one of the best school systems 
in the United States. Because the permanent en- 
dowment of our schools is so large, and because our 
progress during the last forty years has been so 
great, many patriotic Texans have made the mis- 
take of thinking that this is the case. The truth is 
that our public school system is far behind that of 
the more progressive states. It ranks above that of 
only a few of the poorer and more backward states 
of the Union. The reason for this is that while the 
people of Texas have too often depended entirely on 
the permanent fund to maintain their schools, peo- 
ple in other states have not hesitated to tax them- 
selves heavily to improve their schools. In the 
amount of money spent on the schools, in the char- 
acter of the school buildings, in the length of the 
school term, in the salaries paid the teachers, and 
in the preparation and efficiency of the teachers, 
Texas stands far below the average of the other 
states of the Union. Then, too, there are many chil- 
dren who are not enrolled in the schools at all, and 
many more who attend so irregularly that they ob- 



314 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

tain but little good from the schools. In 1910 more 
than forty-two per cent of the children of Texas 
were out of school every day and were getting no 
benefit from the money that was being spent for 
them. This is a very serious defect of our school 
system, and should receive the earnest considera- 
tion of our law makers and our other public men. 

Recent progress in the public school system. — But 
in spite of these defects, there is no reason for the 
friends of education to be discouraged. There has 
never been a time in the history of the state when 
so many forces were at work for the improvement 
of our schools. The newspapers, the women's clubs, 
the farmers' organizations, the State Teachers' As- 
sociation, and an organization of public spirited 
men known as the Conference for Education in 
Texas, are all working hard to secure better build- 
ings, better teachers, and longer terms for the public 
schools. As a result of their work a large number 
of districts have voted bonds and special taxes and 
are making great improvements in their schools. 
Many good laws have already been secured. One of 
these permits the small rural districts to consoli- 
date and erect good country schools for the farmer 
boys and girls. During 1911, two hundred such 
schools were organized and put into operation. 

The University of Texas. — A great university free 
to all the people of the state was one of the cher- 
ished dreams of the founders of the Texas Republic. 




Cu.NSnl.lUA'l'ini IJlKAl, Sl'IKIUL 

(The dilapidated small houses have been replaced by the comfortable 
new building) 



316 



A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 



In 1839, President Lamar nrged congress to estab- 
lish a ''university for instruction in the highest 
branches of science," and that body set aside fifty 
leagues of land, amounting to two hundred and 
twenty thousand acres, for the purpose of estab- 
lishing tw^o universities, one in the eastern and the 
other in the western part of the state. But no ac- 




The Univeksity of Texas, Main Building 



live steps were taken toward starting the university 
until 1858. In that year the idea of two universities 
was given up, and an act was passed confirming the 
grant of fifty leagues of land and adding a great 
deal more land to this endowment. It also provided 
for the appointment of a board of trustees and for 
the immediate establishment of the university. But 
before anything was done the Civil War came on 
and another twenty-five years passed before the 



EDUCATION AND PUBLIC CHAEITY 317 

dream of the fathers was realized. Finally, in 1883, 
the doors of the main nniversity at Austin were 
thrown open and during the first year two hundred 
and eighteen students were enrolled. The medical 
department at Galveston was established in 1891.^ 
Although a number of the other states of the Union 
have larger and richer universities than ours, the 
University of Texas is now coming to be recognized 
as one of the great state universities of the country, 
and it ma^^ some day rank with the best. 

The Agricultural and Mechanical College. — Dur- 
ing the Civil War the United States government 
offered a large grant of land to each state that would 
agree to establish and maintain a college for in- 
struction in agriculture and the mechanic arts. 
Most of the Northern states accepted the offer at 
once and established the new colleges as branches 
of their state universities or as separate schools. 
When Texas was readmitted to the Union after the 
War, the legislature in 1871 voted to accept the 
grant, and the state received one hundred and 
eighty thousand acres of land from the Federal 
government. The school was located on the main 
line of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad, 
four miles south of Bryan. Here buildings were 

^ The main university at Austin consists of four depart- 
ments or schools. They are the College of Arts, the Depart- 
ment of Law, the Department of Engineering, and the De- 
partment of Education for the training of teachers. 



318 



A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 



erected and the first session began on October 4, 
1876, with six students in attendance. It grew rap- 
idly, however, and was soon crowded with students. 
In 1911, it had an enrollment of eleven hundred. It 
gives courses in agriculture, horticulture, and the 
live stock industries, in addition to courses in what 
are known as the mechanic arts. These embrace 




Engineekinu Buildunh;, A. and M. Cii1-.li,i_ 



courses in civil, mechanical, electrical, and architec- 
tural engineering, and in the science and art of 
spinning and weaving. There are also a number of 
experiment farms managed under the direction of 
the college authorities. Farmers are informed by 
means of i^rinted bulletins of the results of the ex- 
periments carried on on these farms. 

The Girls' Industrial College. — This school, lo- 
cated at Denton, began its useful career in Septem- 



EDUCATION AND PUBLIC CHARITY 



319 



ber, 1903. It gives instruction in liome-builcling, 
cooking, sewing, shorthand, typewriting, photogra- 
phy, and other occupations open to women. In 1911 
it had an enrollment of nearly three hundred and 
fifty young women. 




C(jLI,i;i.i; UK I Mil's TKIAL AUTS i'dii (;inL..s 



The State Normal Schools. — Texas has estab- 
lished four schools for the special purpose of pre- 
paring young men and women to teach in the public 
schools in the state. The oldest of these schools is 
tlie Sam Houston Normal Institute, which is located 
at Huntsville, in the southeastern portion of the 
state. It was established in 1879, and during its 
thirty-odd years of existence has sent out a large 




The Denton State Normal School 
The Sam ITohston State Normal The San Marcos State 

School Normal School 

The Canyon State Normal School 



EDUCATION AND PUBLIC CHAEITY 321 

number of efficient teachers for the public schools. 
In 1911 it had an enrollment of about six hundred 
students. Next in point of age is the North Texas 
State Normal College at Denton. It opened its 
doors to students in September, 1901, and was 
crowded with students from the beginning. Its en- 
rollment in 1911 was about seven hundred. Two 
years later the Southwest Texas State Normal 
school was opened. It is situated on a beautiful hill 
overlooking the town of San Marcos, and has made 
steady progress from the first. Its enrollment in 
1911 was about six hundred. To meet the needs of 
the rapidly developing Panhandle section of the 
state, the fourth state normal school was opened at 
Canyon, in 1910. It is called the West Texas State 
Normal College, and during its first year it enrolled 
some two hundred and fifty students. 

In 1911 an important law was passed for the gov- 
ernment of the state normal schools. It created a 
special board of five men, with the state superin- 
tendent of education as chairman, into whose hands 
the selection of teachers and the general control of 
the four normal schools was placed. This board can 
give the normal schools much more time and atten- 
tion than it was possible for the state board of edu- 
cation, — consisting of the governor, the secretary of 
state, and the comptroller, — to give, and it relieves 
those busy officials of a burden which they were glad 
to place in other hands. 



332 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

The Prairie View Normal and Industrial College. 
— Ill this school the state furnishes to the negro race 
some of the advantages that the whites receive from 
the Agricultural and Mechanical College, the Girls' 
Industrial College, and the state normal schools. 
Some of the negro boys and girls who attend this 
school are given instruction in agriculture, cooking, 
sewing, laundering, and other occupations, while 
otliers are prepared to teach in the negro schools 
of the state. The school was opened in 1879, and 
its management was entrusted to the board of di- 
rectors of the Agricultural and Mechanical College. 

Church schools and colleges. — Beside the schools 
whi,cli the state has established and maintained, 
many church schools and private institutions are 
doing excellent work in the cause of education in 
Texas. The oldest of the church schools is Baylor 
University, which is supported by the Baptist 
Church. It was founded at the old town of Inde- 
pendence during the stormy days of the republic. 
Later it was moved to Waco, where it has had a 
very successful career. In recent years new build- 
ings have been added, a large endowment fund has 
been collected, and the enrollment in all depart- 
ments has increased to nearly fifteen hundred. 
Other Baptist schools are the Baylor Female Col- 
lege at Belton and Simmons College at Abilene. 

The Methodist Church has also been very active 
in establishing schools. Southwestern University 



EDUCATION AND PUBLIC CHARITY 323 

was located at Georgetown in 1873 and has had a 
very useful career. In 1911 it had an enrollment of 
more than eleven hundred. Another important 
Methodist school is the Polytechnic College at Fort 
Worth. In 1911, the several conferences of this 
church decided to establish a great university to be 
called the Southern Methodist University. A valu- 
able tract of land has been secured near the city of 
Dallas, a large endowment fund is being raised, and 
the buildings are being erected in preparation for 
an early opening of the school. 

The principal school of the Christian Church is 
the Texas Christian University at Fort Worth. It 
began its career in 1873 as the Add-Ran College at 
Thorp's Springs. Later the name w^as changed and 
the school was moved to Waco. After a disastrous 
fire that destroyed the main building in 1910, the 
school was moved to its present location. In 1911 
it had nearly four hundred students. 

Among the other important church schools are 
Trinity University at Waxahachie and Austin Col- 
lege at Sherman, which are supported* by the Pres- 
byterian Churches of Texas. The Episcopal Church 
and the Catholic Church have a number of schools 
in the state, of which St. Mary's College at Dallas, 
belonging to the former, and St. Edward's College 
at Austin, belonging to the latter, are probably the 
best known. 

The Rice Institute, — Another educational institu- 



334 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

tion that promises to do a valuable work for Texas 
is the Rice Institute at Houston. The establishment 
of this school was made possible by a large endow- 
ment from the estate of William Marsh Rice, wiio 
died in 1900. The value of the endowment is now 
estimated at ten million dollars. The school is not 
yet in operation, but several handsome buildings are 
under way, and it is expected that it will, in a short 
time, be ready to receive students. 

The state's care of the unfortunate classes. — In 
addition to educating the normal youth of the state, 
Texas makes provision for its unfortunates, who are 
regarded as the wards of the state. First are the 
orphan children, for whom a home has been estab- 
lished at Corsicana. Second are the blind and the 
deaf and dumb. For these, three schools are sup- 
ported at Austin, one for the blind children, one 
for the deaf and dumb, and another for the negro 
deaf and dumb and blind. The third class embraces 
the Confederate veterans and the widows of Confed- 
erate soldiers, who are left without means of sup- 
port. For them two homes are supported by the 
state at Austin, one for the men and one for the 
women. The fourth class are the insane. For them 
three asylums have been established, one at Austin, 
one at San Antonio, and another at Terrell. The 
state also maintains a colony at Abilene for the 
treatment of people suffering from epilepsy, and a 



EDUCATION AND PUBLIC CHAEITY 325 

state sanitarium for consumptives has just been 
located near San Angelo. 

How the state handles the criminal classes. — 
There is still another class of unfortunates that 
must be regarded as the wards of the state. They 
are the criminal classes. For the protection of soci- 
ety and the reformation of the criminals they are 
confined in the state prisons. There are two peni- 
tentiaries, one at Huntsville and one at Rusk, be- 
side a number of farms owned by the state on which 
criminals are kept and worked. For the reformation 
of wayward boys under sixteen years of age, a re- 
formatory or industrial school is maintained by the 
state at Gatesville. Boys over sixteen go to the 
penitentiaries along with the men. This is an evil 
that ought to be corrected, and many friends of 
prison reform believe that a reformatory for the 
training and reformation of young men should be 
established. In recent years there has been a gen- 
eral awakening on the subject of prison reform and 
many improvements have been made. The most im- 
portant of these is the abolition of what is called 
the lease, or contract system, by which the labor of 
the convicts was sold by the state to railroads and 
planters. The convicts hereafter are to be worked 
entirely within the prison walls, or on lands owned 
or leased by the state. 

Summary. — Attempts to establish a public school 
system were made during the period of the republic 



326 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

and the early state, but with little success. Two 
million dollars of United States bonds were set 
aside for the schools in 1854 and a start was made, 
but the Civil War put a stop to all progress. After 
the war a second start was made and after the close 
of reconstruction rapid progress was made. Alto- 
gether about forty million acres were given to the 
public schools and the funds derived from their 
sale now" amount to more than eighty million dol- 
lars. The total available in,come is more than thir- 
teen million dollars per year. While great progress 
has been made Texas is far from having one of the 
best school systems in the country. The University 
of Texas, a dream of the fathers of Texas, was put 
in operation in 1883. It now has more than two 
thousand regular students. The Agricultural and 
Mechanical College was begun in 1876 and the 
Girls' Industrial College in 1903. The state main- 
tains four normals for training white teachers and 
one for negroes. There are many church schools in 
the state, of which Baylor and Southwestern Uni- 
versities are the most prominent. The state has 
established schools and asylums for the unfortunate 
classes, and prisons for the criminals, and a reform- 
atory for wayward boys. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Why should the state suj)port a system of public free 
schools ? 



EDUCATION AND PUBLIC CHARITY 327 

2. What did the Texans say about education iu the 
declaration of independence? 

3. AVhat law in regard to schools was passed in Presi- 
dent Lamar's administration? 

4. What was done toward establishing a system of free 
schools in 185-1? 

5. What land grant was made to the schools in the con- 
stitution of 1876? 

6. What are some of the principal defects of our school 
system ? How may they be remedied ? 

7. What are some of the good school laws recently passed ? 

8. Give a brief history of the University of Texas. 

9. What subjects are taught in the Agricultural and 
Mechanical College? 

10. When was the Girls' Industrial College established? 

11. Where are the four state normal schools located? 

12. Tell what you know of the church schools. 

13. For what unfortunate classes does the state provide? 
What provision does it make? Where are these state insti- 
tutions located ? 

14. How does the state deal with the criminal classes ? 



APPENDIX I 

THE UNANIMOUS 

DECLAEATION OF INDEPENDENCE 

MADE BY THE 

DELEGATES OF THE PEOPLE OF TEXAS 

IN GENERAL CONVENTION 
AT TPIE TOWN OF WASHINGTON 
ON THE 2nd day OF ]\JARCII 1836 

When a government has ceased to protect the lives, liberty 
and property of the people, from whom its legitimate powers 
are derived, and for the advancement of whose happiness it 
was instituted, and, so far from being a guarantee for the en- 
joyment of those inestimable and inalienable rights, becomes 
an instrument in the hands of evil rulers for their oppression : 
When the Federal Eepublican Constitution of their country, 
which they have sworn to support, no longer has a substantial 
existence, and the whole nature of their government has been 
forcibly changed, without tlieir consent, from a restricted 
federative republic, composed of sovereign states, to a con- 
solidated, central, military despotism in which every interest 
is disregarded but that of the army and the priesthood — 
both the eternal enemies of civil liberty, the ever-ready 
minions of power, and the usual instruments of tyrants : 
When, long after the spirit of the constitution has d.eparted, 
moderation is, at length, so far lost by those in power that 

329 



330 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

even the semblance of freedom is removed, and the forms, 
themselves, of the constitution discontinued ; and so far from 
their petitions and remonstrances being regarded the agents 
who bear them are thrown into dungeons ; and mercenary 
armies sent forth to force a new government upon them at 
the point of the bayonet : When in consequence of such acts 
of malfeasance and al)dication, on the part of the government, 
anarchy prevails, and civil society is dissolved into its original 
elements — In such a crisis, the first law of nature, the right 
of self-preservation — the inherent and inalienable right of the 
people to appeal to first principles and take their political 
affairs into their own liands in extreme cases — enjoins it as a 
right towards themselves and a sacred obligation to their 
posterity to abolish such government and create another, in 
its stead, calculated to rescue them from impending dangers, 
and to secure their future welfare and happiness. 

Nations, as well as individuals, are amenable for their aets; 
to the public opinion of mankind. A statement of a part of 
our grievances is, therefore, submitted to an impartial world, 
in justification of the hazardous but unavoidable step now 
taken of severing our political connection with the Mexican 
people, and assuming an independent attitude among the 
nations of the earth. 

The Mexican government, by its colonization laws, invited 
and induced the Anglo-American population of Texas to 
colonize its wilderness under the pledged faith of a written 
constitution that they should continue to enjoy that constitu- 
tional liberty and republican government to which they had 
been habituated in the land of their birth, the United States 
of America. In this expectation they have been cruelly dis- 
appointed, inasmuch as the Mexican nation has acquiesced in 
the late phanges made in the government by General Antonio 
Lopez de Santa Anna, who, having overturned the constitu- 
tion of his country, now offers us the cruel alternative either 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 33 1 

to abandon our homes, acquired b}' so many privations, or 
submit to the most intolerable of all tyranny, the combined 
despotism of the sword and the priesthood. 

It has sacrificed our welfare to the state of Coahuila, by 
which our interests have been continually depressed through 
a jealous and partial course of legislation carried on at a far 
distant seat of government, by a hostile majority, in an un- 
known tongue ; and this too, notwithstanding we have peti- 
tioned in the humblest terms, for the establishment of a 
separate state government, and have, in accordance with the 
provisions of the national constitution, presented to the gen- 
eral Congress a republican constitution which was, without 
just cause contemptuously rejected. 

It incarcerated in a dungeon, for a long time, one of our 
citizens, for no other cause but a zealous endeavor to procure 
the acceptance of our constitution and the establishment of a 
state government. 

It has failed and refused to secure on a firm basis, the 
right of trial by jury, that palladium of civil liberty, and only 
safe guarantee for the life, liberty, and property of the citizen. 

It has failed to establish any public system of education, 
although possessed of almost boundless resources (the public 
domain) and, although it is an axiom, in political science, that 
unless a people are educated and enlightened it is idle to 
expect the continuance of civil liberty, or the capacity for 
self-government. 

It has suffered the military commandants stationed among 
us to exercise arbitrary acts of oppression and tyranny ; thus 
trampling upon the most sacred rights of the citizen and 
rendering the military superior to the civil power. 

It has dissolved by force of arms, the State Congress of 
Coahuila and Texas, and obliged our representatives to fly 
for their lives from the seat of government ; thus depriving us 
of the fundamental political right of representation. 



332 A. SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

It has demanded the surrender of a number of our citizens, 
and ordered military detacliments to seize and carry them into 
the interior for trial; in contempt of the civil authorities, 
and in defiance of the laws and the constitution. 

It has made piratical attacks upon our commerce, by com- 
missioning foreign desperadoes, and authorizing them to seize 
our vessels, and convey the property of our citizens to far 
distant ports for confiscation. 

It denies us the right of worshipping the Almighty accord- 
ing to the dictates of our own conscience ; by the support of a 
national religion calculated to promote the temporal interests 
of its human functionaries rather than the glory of the true 
and living God. 

It has demanded us to deliver up our arms, which are essen- 
tial to our defense, the rightful property of freemen, and 
formidable only to tyrannical governments. 

It has invaded our country, both by sea and by land, with 
intent to lay waste our territory and drive us from our homes; 
and has now a large mercenary army advancing to carry on 
against us a war of extermination. 

It has, through its emisaries, incited the merciless savage, 
with the tomahawk and scalping knife, to massacre the in- 
habitants of our defenseless frontiers. 

It hath been, during the whole time of our connection with 
it, the contemptible sport and victim of successive military 
revolutions; and hath continually exhibited every character- 
istic of a weak^ corrupt, and tyrannical government. 

These, and other grievances, were patiently borne by the 
people of Texas until they reached that point at which for- 
bearance ceases to be a virtue. We then took up arms in 
defence of the national constitution. We appealed to our 
Mexican brethren for assistance. Our appeal has been made 
in vain. Though months have elapsed, no sympatlietic re- 
sponse has yet been heard from the Interior. We are, there- 



THE DECLARATION" OF INDEPENDENCE 333 

fore, forced to the melancholy conclusion that the Mexican 
people have acquiesced in the destruction of their liherty, and 
the substitution therefor of a military government — that they 
are unfit to be free and incapable of self-government. 

The necessity of self-preservation, therefore, now decrees 
our eternal political separation. 

We, therefore, the delegates, with plenary powers, of the 
people of Texas, in solemn convention assembled, appealing 
to a candid world for the necessities of our condition, do 
hereby resolve and declare that our political connection with 
the Mexican nation has forever ended ; and that the people of 
Texas do now constitute a free sovereign and independent 
republic, and are fully invested with all the rights and attri- 
butes which properly belong to independent nations; and, 
conscious of the rectitude of our intentions, we fearlessly and 
confidently commit the issue to the decision of the Supreme 
Arbiter of the destinies of nations. 




APPENDIX II 

SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHEES 

CHAPTER I 

See that the class has a definite idea of the geography of 
Spain, France, and England. Describe the condition of geo- 
graphical knowledge in Europe before Columbus discovered 
America, In discussing Spain's right to America explain 
the international agreement that allows a tentative title to the 
nation that makes a discovery. Show how this title is for- 
feited through failure to follow discovery by colonization and 
use of the new land. By reference to the map point out the 
naturalness of Spain's exploration of Mexico from the West 
IndieS;, and of Texas from Mexico. In discussing La Salle's 
exploration of the Mississippi explain how Spain's right to 
this region had lapsed through disuse, thus enabling France 
to claim it. See that the class understands the significance 
of the map on page 9. Point out on the map the distant 
position of the English, but emphasize the necessity of keep- 
ing them in mind as the people who are finally to hold Texas. 

ADDITIONAL EEADING 

Cabeza de Vaca : Bancroft, North Mexican States and 
Texas, I, 61-70; Garrison, Texas, 16-18 (Houghton, Mifflin, 
and Company, Boston) ; The Journey of Alvar Nuiiez Caheza 
de Vaca, translated by Fanny Bandelier (Barnes & Company, 
New York). This is Cabeza de Vaca's own narrative. 

La Salle: Bancroft, I, 391-399; Garrison, 20-25; Parkman, 

334 



.SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHEES 335 

La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West, Chapters 
XXIII-XXVIII (Little, Brown & Company, Boston) ; Win- 
sor, Cartier to Frontenac (Houghton, Mifflin & Company, 
Boston), Chapter XIV; Yoakum, History of Texas, I, Chap- 
ters I-III. 

CHAPTER n 

By reference to the map (p. 13) illustrate the king's motive 
in desiring a settlement on Matagorda Bay. Explain the 
strong missionary motives of the early explorers of America. 
By showing how the principle that "possession is nine points 
in law" applies to the colonization of a new country, explain 
the alarm of the Spanish when they learned that the French 
intended to settle on the Gulf coast. See that the class knows 
the location of .the Tejas Indians and understands the im- 
portance of the Spanish settlement there as an outpost against 
French expansion from Louisiana. 

ADDITIONAL EEADING 

Bancroft, North Mexican States and Texas, 1, 399-406; 
Bolton, "Xotes on Clark's, The Beginnings of Texas," in 
The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, XII, 
148-158; Clark, The Beginnings of Texas, lG8.k-171S (Bulle- 
tin of the University of Texas, No. 98), pp. 1-43; Garrison, 
Texas, 26-33; Father Massanet's Letter, translated by Pro- 
fessor Lilia M. Casis, in The Quarterly, II, 281-312 ; Yoakum, 
History of Texas, I, 44-46. 

CHAPTER III 

By a study of the map illustrate the danger to Spain of the 
French settlement of Louisiana. Compare the causes of the 
second settlement* of East Texas with those of the first, show- 
ing how fear of the French was the chief influence in both 
cases. Do not, however, neglect the missionary motive. See 



336 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

that the class has a clear idea of the general location of the 
missions near Nacogdoches and San Augustine. Emphasize 
their importance as signboards of the Spanish occupancy of 
Texas. Emphasize the importance of the family in the mak- 
ing of a permanent settlement. Without reference to the map 
upon which it is shown, have the class draw the Old San 
Antonio Eoad. This can be done with sufficient accuracy as 
follows : Draw a line straight west from Nacogdoches to the 
Neches Eiver, thence southwest to Crockett, thence to Bas- 
trop, thence to San Antonio, and thence to a point about eight 
miles southeast of Eagle Pass. Dwell somewhat upon the im- 
portance of San Antonio as a halfway station between Mexico 
and the East Texas settlements, and particularly emphasize 
its importance as a permanent center from which other settle- 
luents were sent out. 

Dwell on the three-fold character of a Spanish settlement, 
and bring out the work of the missionaries. To convey a fair 
impression of the missionary work, it is well to emphasize 
the peculiarly imtractable nature of the Indian, which has 
enabled him to withstand to a great degree the civilizing in- 
fluences of every nation that has come into contact with him. 
An instructive comparison may be made of the results of 
the friars' labors with those of modern foreign missionaries. 
By reference to the map which shows the advance of the 
Spanish frontier to the Mississippi, explain why the East 
Texas garrisons were no longer needed in 1763. Point out the 
importance of Nacogdoches as an outpost against the Amer- 
icans after Spain lost Louisiana. 

ADDITIONAL READING 

Saint-Denis and the Spanish Ee-occupation of East Texas: 
Bancroft, North Mexican States and Texas, I, 609-14; Bugbee, 
"The Eeal Saint-Denis," in The Quarterly of the Texas State 
Historical Association, I, 266-81; Clark, The Beginnings of 



SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 337 

Texas, 1684-1718, pp. 43-69 ; Garrison, Texas, 31-49 ; Yoakum, 
History of Texas, 1, 46-52. 

The Early History of San Antonio : Austin, "The Munici- 
pal Government of San Fernando de Bexar, 1730-1800," in 
The Quarterly, YIII, 2T7-328; Clark, 69-88; Cox, "The 
Founding of the First Texas Municipality," in The Quarter-ly, 
II, 217-26, "The Early Settlers of San Fernando," V, 142-60, 
"Educational Efforts in San Fernando de Bexar," VI, 1-26; 
Garrison, 67-74. 

Mission Life: Bolton and Barker, With the Makers of 
Texas, 61-66; Garrison, 53-66; Yoakum, I, chapter Y. 

Eelations hetween the Spanish and the French: Bancroft, 
I, 615-20; Garrison, 75-84; Yoakum, I, chapters VI-IX, 
passim. 

The Beginnings of Nacogdoches: Bolton, "The Spanish 
Abandonment and Ee-occupation of East Texas, 1773-1779," 
in The Quarterly, IX, 67-137. 

CHAPTER IV 

Eeview page 10 and follow the expansion of the English, 
pointing out the significance of the map in 1763, when the 
English and the Spanish met on the Mississippi, far from 
Texas, and in 1803, when the boundary between them was 
moved westward to the frontier of Texas. Explain the bound- 
ary dispute that grew out of the Louisiana purchase, noting 
the compromise settlement of 1806 which created the Neutral 
Ground, and the permanent settlement of 1819. Dwell upon 
the importance of the successive invasions as a means of mak- 
ing Americans acquainted with Texas. Show how the rela- 
tions between the Americans and their Mexican allies in the 
Gutierrez-Magee expedition tended to create mutual dislike 
and distrust. Compare Spain's exclusion of foreigners from 
Texas with the present exclusion of the Chinese from the 
United States. 



338 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

ADDITIONAL BEADING 

Nolan's Expedition : Bancroft, North Mexican States and 
Texas, II, 5-9 ; Brown, History of Texas, I, 35-49 ; Cox, "The 
Louisiana-Texas Frontier," in The Quarterly of the Texas 
State Historical Association, X, 50-62 ; Garrison, Texas, 110- 
16; Yoakum, History of Texas, I, 111-16, 156-61. 

The Gutierrez and Magee Expedition : Bancroft, II, 19- 
32; Garrison, 116-21; McCaleb, "The First Period of Gutier- 
rez-Magee Expedition," in The Quarterly, IV, 218-29; Yoak- 
um, I, 113-56, 162-76. 

Long's Expedition : Bancroft, II, 47-52 ; Foote, Texas and 
the Tcxans, 1, 198-216; Garrison, 121-243; Yoakum, I, 198- 
202. 

Conditions on Galveston Island, 1816-21 : Bancroft, II, 
33-47; Garrison, 125-36; Yoakum, I, 193-209. 

The Neutral Ground: Bancroft, II, 9-16; Garrison, 128- 
31; Yoakum, I, 131-34. 

CHAPTER V 

Compare the ^Mexican revolt from Spain with the American 
revolution, and emphasize the difference in their previous 
political training which enabled the Americans to inaugurate 
a successful independent government while the Mexicans were 
unprepared for self-government. Show how their lack of ex- 
perience made the government of the Mexicans unstable and 
inefficient, and exposed them to the scheming of politicians. 
Call attention to the fact that this same instability and in- 
efficiency gave the American colonists in Texas a contemptuous 
opinion of the government, and paved the way for the Texas 
revolution. See that the class understands clearly the general 
outline of the government of Texas under Mexican rule — 
governor, legislature, political chiefs, alcaldes, and town coun- 
cils — but bring out the point that in most matters each locality 
really governed itself. Present the American colonization of 



SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHEES 339 

Texas as mereh' a step in the general movement of westward 
expansion of the United States, connecting it with the spread 
from the Appalachian mountains to the Mississippi, and with 
the purchase of Louisiana. Many Americans had become 
familiar with Texas through the filibustering expeditions, and 
it is doul:)tful whether Mexico could much longer have pre- 
vented their occupation of the country if it had tried. Call 
attention to the excellent judgment with which Austin selected 
the location for his colony. It was to be an agricultural set- 
tlement, and he chose unerringly one of the richest regions 
in the province. Emphasize the rapid development of Texas 
between 1824 and 1834, and contrast this decade with the 
three barren centuries of Spanish rule. Emphasize the close 
connection between the colonists and the United States, and 
the comparative absence of any ties between them and j\Icxico. 
This has an important bearing on the development of the 
Texas revolution. 

ADDITIONAL BEADING 

The "War of Mexican Independence: Garrison, Texas, 97- 
109; IsToll, From Empire to Eepuhlic, 1-109. (McClurg and 
Compan}', Chicago.) Yoakum, History of Texas, I, 204-9. 

Austin's Colony: Bancroft, North Mexican States and 
Texas, IT, 54-73 ; Garrison, 137-52 ; Yoakum, I, 209-29. 

Other Colonies : Eather, "De Witt's Colony" in TJie Quar- 
terly of the Texas State Historical Association, VIII, 95-192. 

Social and Economic Conditions in the Colonies : The 
references given above for young readers (p. 82) ; and The 
Quarterly, I, 297-302; II, 170-173, 327-232; IV, 85-119; V, 
12-18: VI, 236-253. 

CHAPTER VI 

In order to give the class a somewhat personal appreciation 
of how race prejudice underlay and exaggerated the causes 
of the revolution, remind them of their own feeling toward 



340 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

foreigners and let them see that between the colonists and the 
Mexicans this feeling was mutual. Explain further how the 
aggressiveness of the American pioneers and the rapid expan- 
sion of the United States naturally caused Mexico to suspect 
that the United States would seize Texas at the first oppor- 
tunit}'. This suspicion was powerfully strengthened by the 
fact that the United States had been trying ever since 1825 
to purchase all or a part of the province. With this racial 
distrust as a background, and the added uneasiness of Mexico 
regarding the intentions of the United States, it is easy to 
understand how the events of 1825-35 were misunderstood. In 
justice to the Mexicans, remember that some of their short- 
comings were due to this consuming uneasiness, and some to 
their lack of experience in administering a republican gov- 
ernment. It was not their deliberate intention to oppress the 
colonists. 

Guard the class against the impression that the revolution 
was a spontaneous and unanimous outburst of indignation on 
the part of the colonists. Until the war was actually precipi- 
tated by the battle of Gonzales the colonists were sharply 
divided on the questions of what they should do, and probably 
a majority of them were in favor of peace. Emphasize the 
fact, that during the first period of the revolution the colo- 
nists were not fighting for independence but to preserve the 
republican constitution of 1824. There were two reasons for 
this: In the first place, the majority of the colonists either 
did not care to be independent of Mexico or thought it unwise 
to declare independence at that time; and, in the second place, 
they believed that by fighting for the republican constitution 
they could get assistance from the Liberal party in Mexico. 
They failed to get this help, however, and as the war con- 
tinued there was nothing to do but declare independence. Com- 
pare in a general way the Texan constitution of 1836 with the 
constitution of the United States : for example, the executive. 



SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 341 

legislative and judicial arrangements, and the provision con- 
cerning the African slave trade. Sho^Y the disastrous effects 
of the quarrel between Governor Smith and the council in 
paralyzing the action of the government and in discouraging 
the people. The lack of unity and co-operation among the 
various Texan forces in 1836 was chiefly due to the quarrel. 
It left Texas without any directing head, so that every man 
was, to a certain extent, thrown upon his own resources and 
judgment. From a study of the text, have the class trace on a 
map the route of General Houston and Santa Anna to San 
Jacinto. 

ADDITIONAL READING 

The Causes of the Eevolution : Bancroft, North Mexican 
States and Texas, II, 98-153; Garrison, Texas, 161-88; 
Yoakum, Histonj of Texas, I, 374-379 ; The Quarterly of the 
Texas State Historical Association, VI, 365-99 (Eowe, "The 
Disturbances at Anahuac in 1833"), VII, 1-38 (Turner, "The 
Mejia Expedition"). 

The Organization of the Eevolution: Bancroft, II, 153-65; 
Garrison, 189-91. 

The Battle of Gonzales : Bancroft, II, 165-68 ; Garrison, 
191; Yoakum, I, 361-65; The Quarterly, VIII, 146, 149-58 
(Eather, "De Witt's Colony"). 

The Capture of San Antonio by the Texans in 1835 : Ban- 
croft, II, 175-89; Garrison, 193-94; Yoakum, II, 1-33; The 
Quarterly, XI, 1-55 ("General Austin's Order Book of the 
Campaign of 1835"). 

The Quarrel between Governor Smith and the Council : 
Bancroft, II, 193-95; Garrison, 194,304; The Quarterly, V, 
369-345 (Smith, "The Quarrel between Governor Smith and 
the Council," etc.). 

The Alamo: Bancroft, II, 301-15; Brown, History of 



343 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

Texas, I, 533-40, 550-51, 565-86; Garrison, 204-9; Kennedy, 
Texas, II, 181-93 ; Yoakum, II, 75-82. 

The Goliad Massacre: Bancroft, II, 219-37; Garrison, 
205-6; Kennedy, 199-216; Wooten (editor), A Comprehensive 
History of Texas, I, 608-36. (This is Dr. Bernard's Journal, 
one of the most important sources on Fannin and the Goliad 
massacre) ; Yoakum, II, 83-101; The Quarterly, IX, 157-209 
(Eoller, "Captain John Sowers Brooks." This is a collection 
of letters written by one of Fannin's men during January, 
February, and March of 1836.) 

The '^Eunaway Scrape" : The Quarterly, IV, 162-69. 

The San Jacinto Campaign : Bancroft, II, 238-78 ; Garri- 
son, 219-27; Yoakum, II, 102-176; The Quarterly, lY, 237- 
345. (Barker, "The San Jacinto Campaign.") 

CHAPTER VII 

See that the class understands the more striking differences 
between Texas as an independent nation and as a state of the 
American Union. As a state it has no army or navy to main- 
tain ; it has no custom officers, and no duties to collect ; it has 
no ministers at foreign courts, makes no treaties, and has no 
foreign relations. As an independent nation it had to have 
all of these. Independence greatly increased the responsibilities 
of Texas, and made its position more diiScult in some respects 
than it had been while subject to Mexico. The people realized 
this, and it was partly this which caused them to vote for an- 
nexation to the United States. 

Illustrate the disorder of the time by the refusal of the vol- 
unteers to allow Santa Anna to return to ]\Iexico, and by their 
refusal to accept General Lamar for their commander. In 
connection with Santa Anna's detention, point out that nations 
cannot afford to be influenced by personal emotions of revenge 
and spite. They must act for the good of all the people, and, 
above all, to hold the respect of other nations, they must keep 



SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHEES 343 

(.heir treaties. Santa Anna might not have aided Texas, if lie 
had been allowed to return, but the government thought the 
experiment worth trying. 

Dwell somewhat upon the refusal of the people to allow 
congress to amend the constitution, and upon the provision 
in the constitution that no president should serve two terms 
in succession. These are partly to be explained by the demo- 
cratic character of the people and partly by their experience 
with the Mexican government. The object was to prevent 
anyone from getting permanent control of the country. 

Emphasize the importance of establishing order and of 
securing immigration as a means of making Texas strong and 
enabling it to win a respectable place among nations. Point 
out the means adopted to stimulate immigration, and show 
how social and economic conditions in Europe and the United 
States were favorable to Texan immigration. In this con- 
nection point out that much of the trouble with the Indians 
was due to the rapid settlement of the country, and to the 
consequent pushing back of the frontier. 

There is a somewhat natural temptation to think too harshly 
of Mexico's refusal to recognize the independence of Texas. 
Eemind the class that the Mexicans honestly believed that 
they had been badly treated by the Texans. Many believed 
that the Americans had come to Texas for the express pur- 
pose of seizing Texas. The Mexican government realized 
clearly enough at last that it would be impossible to reconquer 
the country, but the Mexican people did not realize it, and 
would have overthrown any government that recognized 
Texas. 

Explain England's interest in Mexico, and show how this at 
first affected its attitude toward Texas. When England 
became convinced that Mexico could never reconquer Texas, 
it shifted its policy in the hope of winning compensating 
advantages in Texas for those that it might lose in Mexico. 



344 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

Show how England's manifestation of interest in Texas 
stimulated the United States to annex it. Dwell upon the 
advantages of annexation both to the United States and to 
Texas. Emphasize Mexico's threat of war if the United 
States annexed Texas. This is important in connection with 
the Mexican War. 

ADDITIONAL BEADING 

Santa Anna's imprisonment: Bancroft, II, 268-277; 
Brown, II, 73-84, 119-122; Yoakum, II, 171-175, 179, 233- 
235. 

The army of the Eepublic : Bancroft, II, 289-290 ; Brown, 
II, 86-89, 133-135 ; Garrison, 231-232 ; Yoakum, 183-188, 206- 
207, 209. 

The Eepublic of the Eio Grande : Bancroft, II, 326-332 ; 
Brown, II, 172-175; Yoakum, II, 274-280, 288-298. 

The Santa Fe expedition: Bancroft, II, 332-337; Brown, 
II, 189-197, 220-221; Garrison, 244-246; Kendall, George W., 
Narrative of the Texas Santa Fe Expedition (2 volumes. 
New York, 1844) ; Yoakum, II, 321-332, 330, 342-344. 

The Mexican invasions of 1842: Bancroft, II, 347-354, 
357,360; Brown, II, 211-232; Garrison, 246-249; Yoakum, 
II, 348-368. 

The Mier expedition: Bancroft, II, 360-370; Brown, II, 
233-253; Garrison, 248-251; Green, T. J., Journal of the 
Texian Expedition Against Mier. (New York, 1845). 

The Navy: Bancroft, II, 271-272, 283-284, 350-353; 
Brown, II, 85-86, 126-128, 198-200 ; Dienst, Alex., "The Navy 
of the Republic of Texas," in The Quarterly of the Texas 
State Historical Association, XII, 165-203, 249-275, XIII, 
1-44, 85-127 ; Garrison, 230-231 ; Yoakum, II, 124, 212-213, 
216-218, 243, 271, 303, 380-384. 

Biographical sketches of early Texans (arranged alpha- 
betically) : Thrall, A Pictorial History of Texas, 477-637. 



SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHEES 345 

Finances of the Eepublic: Bancroft, II, 312-313, 317-319, 
344-347 ; Garrison, 235-336 ; Yoakum, II, 189, 206-207, 209, 
214, 243-245, 249-250, 281-282, 314-318, 333-343. 

Indian Affairs : Bancroft, II, 310-311, 319-326 ; Brown, II, 
129-130, 143-145, 154-164, 175-185, 262-279 ; Garrison, 232- 
235 ; Thrall, 445-471 ; Yoakum, II, 227-228, 245-248, 257-270. 

Population and Wealth: Bancroft, II, 306-310, 388-393; 
Brown, II, 280-286, Garrison, 235-240, 269-271; Yoakum, 
II, 241-242, 285-287, 311-313. 

Eecognition of Texan Independence : Bancroft, II, 284- 
289, 300-303; Brown, II, 71-72, 97-98; Garrison, Westward 
Extension, 85-97 (Harpers, New York, 1906) ; Eather, Ethel 
Z., "Eecognition of the Eepublic of Texas by the United 
States," in The Quartcrhj of the Texas State Historical As- 
sociation, XIII, 155-256; Yoakum, II, 177, 206-209. 

British Interest in Texas : Adams, E. D., British Interests 
and Activities in Texas (Johns Hopkins University Press, 
Baltimore, 1910) ; Bancroft, II, 338-340, 374; Smith, Justin 
H., The Annexation of Texas, chapter 18 (Baker & Taylor 
Company, New York, 1911) ; Worley, J. L., "The Diplomatic 
Eelations of England and the Eepublic of Texas," in The 
Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, IX, 1-40. 

The Annexation of Texas : Bancroft, II, 372-383 ; Brown, 
II, 296-315; Garrison, Texas, 255-268; Garrison, Westward 
Extension, chapters 6-10; Smith, J. H., Tlie Annexation of 
Texas; Yoakum, II, 345-347, 407-433. 

CHAPTER Vin 

Make clear to the pupils the changes in international rela- 
tions, and in powers and form of government, involved in 
the transformation of the republic into the state. Be sure 
that the pupils clearly understand the close connection between 
the annexation of Texas and the Mexican War; and make 



346 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

clear to them the vast consequences of that war to the United 
States. It will be easier, then, to show them the importance 
of the American settlements in Texas. It may be possible to 
show the class that the slavery dispute had much to do with the 
refusal of the United States government to let Texas have part 
of New Mexico. Explain that the bonds and treasury notes, 
which constituted the public debt, were scaled down because 
they had been sold to speculators at a price far below their 
face value. See that the class gets a clear idea of the distribu- 
tion of the population between 1850 and 1860, and of the 
pushing westward of the frontier. The importance of railroad 
building can be made evident by showing how much we are 
ourselves dependent upon them to-day for the commonest 
necessities and how greatly they have reduced the cost of these 
necessities. It may be possible to show that the quarrel 
between the North and the South was not wholly over the 
slavery question; and the pupils should be made to under- 
stand that the Southern states seceded because the people 
thought they would not be able to preserve the rights of their 
states in the Union. 

ADDITIONAL EEADING 

The Organization of the State Government: Roberts, 0. M., 
in A Comprehensive History of Texas, II, 7-21; Lubbock, 
Six Decades in Texas, 179-180; Thrall, 357-358; Brown, II, 
308-318. 

The War with Mexico: Bancroft, II, 394-397; Compre- 
hensive History, II, 21-24; Brown, II, 318-340; Lubbock, 
180-182 ; Fulmore, Z. T., "The Annexation of Texas and the 
Mexican War," in The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical 
Association, V, 28-48; Garrison, 261-264; Brooks, S. P., 
"Texas in the Federal Union," in The South in the Building 
of the Nation, III, 383-;}86. 

The Boundary Dispute with the United States: Bancroft, 



SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHEES 347 

II, 399-401 ; Brown, II, 344-346 ; Garrison, 264-266 ; Lubbock, 
190-192 ; Comprehensive History, II, 27-29 ; Thrall, 359-367 ; 
Brooks, in The South in the Building of the Nation, III, 
386-388. 

The Public Debt: Brown, II, 353-354; Bancroft, II, 400- 
404, 412-419; Garrison, 266; Brooks, in The South in the 
Building of the Nation, III, 391-392 ; Thrall, 361-372. 

The Frontier: Garrison, 271-275; Brown, II, 356,362, 
377-383 ; Bancroft, II, 405-412. 

The Beginnings of Railroads : Potts, C. S., Railroad Trans- 
portation in Texas (Bulletin of the University of Texas, No. 
119), 9-36; Brown, II, 354-356; Briscoe, P., "The First 
Texas Eailroad," in The Quarterly of the Texas State His- 
torical Association^ VII, 279-285. 

The Beginnings of the Public School System : Lane, J. J., 
A History of Education in Texas, 26-27; Kenney, M. M., 
"Eecollections of Early Schools," in The Quarterly of the 
Texas State Historical Association, I, 285-296. 

The Approach of Civil War : Bancroft, II, 419-426 ; Com- 
prehensive History, II, 50-85 ; Garrison, 282-285. Any good 
history of the United States. 

CHAPTER IX 

Show how the distance of Texas from the North, the lack 
of railroad communication, and the intervening Confederate 
States protected the Texans from invasion by land. Empha- 
size the importance, in consequence of this, of keeping control 
of the seaports and thus preventing an invasion by water. 
Show by means of the sketch map, on page 216, how the 
Federals had planned to seize Sabine Pass, Beaumont, Hous- 
ton, and Galveston, and thence invade the state. Explain 
that the Confederate armies could not have been kept up with- 
out constant supplies of food, clothing, and arms, and then 



348 ^ SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

show how important were the supplies sent from Texas and 
brought from alDroad through Mexico. See that the pupils 
understand how the blockade and the depreciation of Con- 
federate papei money made prices high. Many of the children 
will be able to obtain from their grandmothers stories of hard- 
ship suffered during the war. 

In beginning the reconstruction period try to get the 
children to see clearly the two sides of the situation : (1) The 
South trying to get back into the Union at once; (2) the 
North distrustful and wanting to impose conditions, especially 
negro suffrage, as the price of reunion. Make it clear that 
President Johnson wanted to readmit the Southern states on 
easy terms, but that Congress, which represented the people 
of the North, repudiated the president's plan and forced the 
states back under military control, and required them to grant 
suffrage to the negroes. Explain that Texas fared somewhat 
better under this plan than did most of the other states. See 
that the children have some understanding of the difference 
between military rule, and ordinary civil government. As an 
illustration, show that under the former a person who was 
accused of a violation of the law had none of the safeguards 
which are ordinarily given an accused person (habeas corpus, 
bail, trial by jury, etc.). Explain that the Democrats opposed 
giving votes to the negroes because the latter were ignorant, 
inexperienced in political affairs, of a different race, and but 
lately slaves; while the radical Republicans favored negro 
suffrage partly as a fancied security to the negro, partly 
because they hoped to retain political power through negro 
votes. Call the attention of the pupils to the fact that the 
harshness of Eeconstruction converted practically all the 
whites in the South into Democrats, and that the South has 
been Democratic ever since. 



SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHEKS 349 

ADDITIONAL READING 

Secession: A Comprehensive History of Texas, II, 85-135; 
Bancroft, North Mexican States and Texas, II, 427-441; 
Eamsdell, Charles ^Y., Reconstruction in Texas, 11-20; Eeagan, 
John H., "A Conversation with Governor Houston/' in The 
Quarterly of Texas State Historical Association, III, 279-281. 

Texas Troops in the Confederate Armies : A Comprehensive 
History, 571-650 ; Polle}^, J. B., Hood's Texas Brigade. 

The Recapture of Galveston: Lubbock, Six Decades m 
Texas, 432-454; Bancroft, II, 454-456; Eamsdell, "Texas 
in the Confederacy," in The South in the Building of the 
Nation, III, 411-412. 

Conditions During the War : A Comprehensive History, II, 
142-146 ; Bancroft, II, 468-474. 

Supplies Furnished from Texas: Lubbock, 359-371, 478- 
480, 667-673 ; Eamsdell, "Texas in the Confederacy," in The 
South in the Building of the Nation, III, 405-408. 

The Close of the AVar in Texas : Eamsdell, Reconstruction 
in Texas, 27-41; The South in the Building of the Nation, 
111,415-417. 

The Provisional Government : Eamsdell, 55-84 ; A Com- 
prehensive History, II, 151-155; Bancroft, II, 478-482. 

The Eestoration of State Government in 1866 : Eamsdell, 
108-141; Bancroft, II, 482-487; A Comprehensive History, 
II, 155-163; Eoberts, 0. M., "The Experiences of an Un- 
recognized Senator," in The Quarterly of Texas State His- 
torical Association, XII, 87-147. 

The Establishment of Military Government by Congress: 
Eamsdell, 145-170; A Comprehensive History, II, 163-168; 
Bancroft, II, 487-494. 

Hardships of Eeconstruction : Eamsdell, 171-199 ; Wheeler, 
T. B., "Eeminiscences of Eeconstruction in Texas," in The 
Quarterly of Texas State Historical Association, XI, 63-65. 



350 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

The Negroes, the Union League, and the Ku Klux Klan : 
Eamsdell, 44-51, 70-77, 1G6, 232; Wood, W. D., "The Ku 
Klux Klan," in The Quarterly of Texas State Historical 
Association, IX, 262-268. 

The Convention of 1868: Eamsdell, 200-260; A Compre- 
hensive History, II, 173-179; Bancroft, 494-497. 

The Election of 1869 and Eeadmission to the Union: 
Eamsdell, 261-292; Bancroft, II, 497-500; A Comprehensive 
History, 179-188. 

The Character of Eadical Eule : Eamsdell, 295-308 ; Ban- 
croft, II, 501-507; Brown, II, 451-455; A Comprehensive 
History, II, 188-193 ; Miller, E. T., "The State Finances of 
Texas During Eeconstruction," in The Quarterly of Texas 
State Historical Association, XIV, 87-112. 

The Overthrow of Eadical Eule: Eamsdell, 309-317; 
Comprehensive History, II, 201-207; Bancroft, II, 508-511; 
Brown, History of Texas, II, 456-480 ; Wheeler, T. B., "Eemi- 
niscences of Eeconstruction in Texas," in The Quarterly of 
Texas State Historical Association, XI, 56-63. 

CHAPTER X 

The period since the close of reconstruction has been one of 
orderly development and there are few striking events to 
narrate. You should see that the student understands the 
transition from the turbulence of the period of radical rule to 
the orderly conditions following the return of the Democratic 
party to power. The organization of the government under 
the new constitution, the suppression of disorder, the financial 
reforms of Eoberts's administration, the causes and events 
connected with the creation of the railroad commission, and 
the recent eiforts to purify elections and subject political 
parties to popular control are probably the mose essential 
things to impress upon the mind of the pupil. The details of a 
disaster like the Galveston storm are of far less importance 



SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHEES 351 

than the protective measures that have since been adopted, or 
the new form of city government that resulted from the 
city's calamity. 

ADDITIONAL EEADING 

The Constitution of 1876 : Bancroft, II, 514-518 ; Brown, 
II, 485-i87; Roberts, "The Political, Legislative, and Judi- 
cial History of Texas for Its Fifty Years of Statehood," in 
Wooten's A Comprehensive History of Texas, II, 214-217. 

State Finances: Bancroft, II, 513, 522-524; Brown, II, 
481-493 ; Roberts as above, 218, 234, 235, 252-53. 

The Capitals of Texas: Roberts as above, 239, 269-271; 
Roberts, "The Capitals of Texas," in The Quarterhj of Texas 
State Historical Association, II, 117-123; Winkler, "The 
Seat of Government of Texas," in The Quarterly, X, 140-171 
and 185-245. 

The Greer County Question : Bancroft, II, 525-526. 

Railway Regulation and the Railroad Commission : Potts, 
Railroad Transportation in Texas, University of Texas Bul- 
letin, No. 119, 106-174; Deussen, "Has the Railroad Commis- 
sion Succeeded in Preventing Discriminations," in the Uni- 
versity of Texas Record, IV, No. 4, 422-462 ; Thompson, "The 
Regulation of the Issue of Texas Railroad Securities by the 
State Government," in Transactions of the Texas Academy of 
Science, V, 3-17; Raines, Speeches and State Papers of James 
Stephen Hogg, 27, 32-50, 58-64,, 136-154, 156-159, 187-196, 
201-208, 215-224, 296-301; Miller, "The Texas Stock and 
Bond Law and Its Administration," in Quarterly Journal of 
Economics, XII, 109-119. 

The Terrell Election Law : Lightfoot, The Terrell Election 
Law. (This is a pamphlet containing the election law and 
extracts from court decision, prepared for free distribution by 
Attorney General Lightfoot) . 

Biographies : Wooten, "The Life and Services of Oran Milo 



352 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

EoLerts," in The Quarterly, II, 1-20; McCaleb, "John H. 
Eeagan," in The Quarterly, IX, 41-50; Eaines, Speeches and 
State Papers of James Stephen Hogg, 5-19 ; Lane, History of 
Education in Texas, 292-393. (Sketch of the life of Governor 
L, S. Eoss). 

The Commission Form of City Government : Woodruff, City 
Government by Commission (Appleton and Company, New 
York) ; Bradford, Commission Government in American 
Cities (The Macmillan Company, New York). 

CHAPTER XI 

Give this chapter a local application whenever it can profit- 
ably be done. In connection with the growth of population, 
have the children learn the population of their own town and 
county for each decennial period. Also have them study the 
racial elements in the local population, and find out how many 
different states are represented in the class or the school. In 
connection with the various industries discussed in the text, 
have the children learn from their parents or elsewhere what 
is being done locally in each particular industry. It would 
be instructive to take the class to visit a farm or ranch, if 
they are city children, or to inspect a cotton gin, or an oil mill, 
or a coal mine, or a factory, or a packing house, or any other 
local industry. In this way the subject can be made a live 
and interesting one, not a dry recital of lifeless statistics. 

In connection with the sul)jeet of railroad building, explain 
how a bonus is raised to secure the building of a railroad. 
Have the children make maps showing the principal lines of 
railroads in the state, especially the lines in their part of the 
state. Maps of the roads can usually be found in the folders 
or time tables printed for distribution by the roads. Collec- 
tions of these folders can be secured in any first class hotel. 
Do not be satisfied with a mere committing to memory of the 



SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 353 

material in the text, but bring it into close touch with the 
actual life of the community about you. 

ADDITIONAL READING 

Population: United States Census Reports for 1870, 1880, 
1890, 1900 ; Bancroft, II, 539 ; Brown, II, 498-500 ; Garrison, 
305-308. 

Agriculture and Stock Eaising: Census Eeports as above. 
Bancroft, II, 557-564; Texas Almanac for 1910 and 1911 
(Galveston-Dallas News) ; Year Booh of the Department of 
Agriculture. (Sent free on application to the Department 
of Agriculture, Washington). Further material may be 
obtained without expense by applying to the United States 
Department of Agriculture, to the State Department of Agri- 
culture, at Austin, and to the Agricultural and Mechanical 
College, College Station. 

Transportation and Eailroad Building: Bancroft, II, 570- 
576 ; Brown, II, 500-503 ; Garrison, 303-304 ; Potts, Eailroad 
Transportation in Texas (Bulletin of the University of Texas, 
No. 119, issued for free distribution to citizens of the State). 
Briscoe, "The Pirst Texas Eailroad," in The Quarterly of 
Texas State Historical Association, VII, 279-285; Deusscn, 
"The Beginnings of the Texas Eailroad System," in Trans- 
actions of the Texas Academy of Science, IX, 43-74; Thomp- 
son, "The Development of the Present Texas Eailroad Sys- 
tem,'' Transactions of the Texas Academy of Science, IV, 
Part I, 57-80. 

Mining and Manufacturing: The Census Reports; The 
Texas Almanac; Bancroft, II, 564-566. The University of 
Texas has issued a number of bulletins on coal, lignite, quick- 
silver, clays, and other minerals. Such of these as are in print 
may be secured upon application to the University. 



354 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

CHAPTER XII 

This chapter furnishes the teacher an excellent opportvmity 
to arouse the interest of the children and, through them, the 
interest of the entire community, in the problem of securing 
better schools, better salaries, and better teachers. The teacher 
should emphasize the necessity of educating all the people in a 
country where all the people take part in public affairs. He 
should point out the defects of our school system no less earn- 
estly than its merits and where possible indicate the means 
by which improvements may be made. Special attention 
should be called to the necessity of erecting good school build- 
ings in place of the miserable "shacks" that are now used in 
many communities. In order to secure good buildings it will 
frequently be necessary to combine several small schools into 
larger ones and vote bonds for the erection of the central 
building. The result of such a movement is shown in the 
illustration in the text (p. 315). The necessity of school 
gardens for teaching agriculture and the desirability of making 
the school building a center for all sorts of social gatherings 
should also be pointed out. In fact, this chapter furnishes the 
teacher the best opportunity he will have for molding the opin- 
ions of the people of the community on educational and social 
subjects. 

ADDITIONAL EEADING 

Lane, History of Education in Texas (Published by United 
States Bureau of Education, 1903) ; Lane, "The Educational 
System of Texas," in Wooten's Comprehensive History of 
Texas, II, 424-470; Bancroft, II, 528-550; Brown, II, 506- 
514 : Garrison, 308-311; Eoberts, "Establishment of the Uni- 
versity of Texas,'' in The Quarterly of Texas State Historical 
Association, I, 233-265. 



APPENDIX III 



OUTLINE 

I. The Backgroimd of Texas History (1492-1689). 

1. The Spanish. 

a. The basis of Spain's claim to Texas. 

(1) Columbus's discovery of America. 
(3) Exploration of Texas by Cabeza de Yaca, 
Coronado, and others. • 

b. Spain's earlv neglect of Texas. 

2. The French. 

a. Late arrival and rapid spread of the French in 
America. 

(1) Over the St. Lawrence A^alley and aroimd 

the Great Lakes. 

(2) Over the Mississippi Valley. 

h. The basis of France's claim to Texas. 

(1) La Salle's settlement at Fort St. Louis. 

(a) The accident which brought La 

Salle to Texas. 

(b) History of his settlement. 

(c) Its importance. 

c. The English. 

(1) Their first settlements in America. 

(2) Their slow spread. 

(3) The permanence of their colonies. 

(4) Their part in the history of Texas. 

II. Spain Begins to Occupy Texas (1690-1714). 

1. The causes which aroused Spanish interest in Texas 

a. The desire for a convenient route to New 

Mexico. 

b. The missionary motive. 

c. The fear of French encroachment. 

355 



356 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

2. The search for the French, 

a. The condition of Fort St. Louis when found. 

b. The meeting with the Tejas chief. 

3. The first Texas mission. 

a. Its location. 

b. Character and civilization of the Tejas. 

c. Causes of the failure of the mission. 

d. Its importance as an experiment in Texas 

colonization. 
III. Spain Takes Possession of Texas (1714-1800). 

1. The French stimulate the Spanish to occupy Texas. 

a. The French settle Louisiana. 

b. The appointment of Saint-Denis to arrange for 

trade with northern Mexico through Texas. 
. (1) His commerce with the Hasinai Indians. 

(2) His journey to Mexico and his arrest. 

(3) His conference with the viceroy. 

(4) The importance of Saint-Denis in the 

history of Texas. 

2. The Spanish settlements in Texas. 

a. The East Texas settlements. 

(1) The preparations for the settlements. 

(2) The journey to East Texas, probably 

along the route of the Old San An- 
tonio Eoad. 

(3) The welcome of the Tejas Indians. 

(4) The missions, and tbeir importance as 

signboards of Spanish occupancy. 

b. San Antonio. 

(1) Causes of the settlement, 

(2) Location of San Antonio. 

(3) Its importance . 

(4) The missions near San Antonio. 

c. Other Spanish settlements. 

(1) Goliad. 

(2) Nacogdoches. 

d. Life in the settlements. 

(1) In the mission. 

(2) In the fort. 

(3) In the village. 



OUTLINE 351^- 

IV. The Americans Become Acquainted with Texas (1800- 

1820). 

1. The expansion of the English-Americans to the 

frontier of Texas. 

a. The conquest of eastern Louisiana from France, 

1763. 
(1) Tlie Englisli and the Spanisli become 
neiglibors on the Mississippi, 

b. Tlie English colonies become independent as 

the United States of America. 
e. The purchase of western Louisiana in 1803, and 
the expansion to the Texas border. 
(1) The boundary dispute. 

(a) The Neutral Ground agreement, 

1806. 

(b) The final settlement, 1819. 

2. The invasions of the Americans. 

a. Nolan's expedition, 1800-1801. 

(1) Its object. 

(2) The story of the expedition. 

(3) The fate of Nolan's men— Ellis Bean. 

(4) The importance of the expedition. 

b. The Gutierrez and Magee expedition, 1812-13. 

(1) Its object. 

(2) Its early successes. 

(3) Its failure — the battle of the Medina. 

(4) Its importance. 

c. Long's expedition, 1819. 

(1) Its object and connection with the boun- 

dary settlement of 1819. 

(2) Its disastrous failure. 

(3) Its importance. 

d. The freebooters at Galveston Island, 1816-21. 

(1) Aury. 

(2) Lafitte. 

(3) Effect upon tlie reputation of Texas. 

V. The Americans Settle Texas — The Period of Colonization 

(1821-35). 
1. The Mexican revolution (1810-21) frees Mexico 
(including Texas) from Spain. 



3j8 a school history or texas 

a. The causes of the Mexican revolution. 

b. The incapacity of the Mexicans for self-gov- 

ernment. 

c. Efforts to establish a rei^ublican government. 

d. Their political troubles. 

e. The government of Texas as a Mexican province. 

(1) Union with Coahuila. 

(2) Governor and legislature at Saltillo. 

(3) Political chief and alcaldes in Texas. 

2. The American colonization of Texas. 

a. Moses Austin gets permission to found a colony. 

b. Stephen F. Austin establishes the colony. 

(1) Its location. 

(2) Inducements offered colonists. 

(3) Austin's reward. 

(4) Early difficulties of the colony. 

c. Other colonies established. 

(1) The principal empresarios, or contractors. 

(2) Their land premiums. 

(3) The rapid settleiuent of Texas. 

d. The character of the colonists. 

3. The life of the colonists. 

a. Their homes. 

(1) The houses in which they lived. 

(2) Their furniture. 

(3) Their food. 

(4) Their clothing. 

(5) Their hospitality. 

b. Their amusements. 

c. Danger from the Indians. 

d. The occupation of the colonists. 

e. The prosperous condition of the colonies in 

1834. 

(1) Agricultural products. 

(2) Trade. 

(3) Education. 

VI. The Texas Eevolution— the Americans Take Texas (1821- 
1836). 
1. The general causes of the revolution. 

a. DifEerence of race and of previous political ex- 
perience the fundamental cause. 



OUTLINE 359 

b. ]\lisunderstandings growing out of: 

(1) The Fredonian rebellion, 182G-7. 

(a) Causes of the rebellion. 

(b) Attitude of most of the colonists 

toward it. 

(c) Failure of the rebellion. 

(2) Guerrero's emancipation decree, 1829. 

(a) Object of the decree. 

(b) Why the colonists objected to it. 

(c) Its withdrawal. 

(3) The law of April 6, 1830. 

(a) Its principal provisions. 

(b) Why the colonists objected to it. 

(c) Evasions of the law. 

(4) The disturbances of 1832. 

(a) Causes. 

(b) The attack on Anahuac. 

(c) Battle of Velasco. 

(d) Expulsion of the troops from Texas. 

(e) How the colonists explained their 

actions. 

(f) The elfect of these disturbances on 

Mexican opinion. 

(5) The conventions of 1832 and 1833 

petition for the separation of Texas 
from Coahuila. 

(a) The reasons assigned for this by 

the Texans. 

(b) What the Mexicans considered the 

real reason to be. 

(6) The imprisonment of Austin in Mexico. 

2. The immediate causes of the revolution. 

a. Santa Anna sends troops and custom officers to 

Texas. 

(1) Whv the colonists objected to this. 

(2) Travis drives Captain Tenorio from 

Anahuac. 

b. Santa Anna orders the arrest of Travis and 

other piominent citizens. 



360 A SCHOOL HTSTOEY OF TEXAS 

c. Stephen F. Austin returns to Texas and tells 
the colonists that it is time for war. 
(1) Preparations of the colonists. 

3. The campaign of 1835. 

a. The battle of Gonzales (October 2, 1835). 

(1) Its cause. 

(2) Its effect in uniting the colonists for 

the war. 

b. The capture of Goliad. 

e. The siege of San Antonio. 

(1) Austin elected commander. 

(2) The battle of Concepcion. 

(3) The "grass fight." 

(4) Burleson succeeds Austin as commander. 

(5) Milam storms San Antonio. 

(6) The surrender of General Cos. 

4. The government of Texas during the revolution. 

a. The consultation. 

(1) It organizes a provisional government. 

(2) It adopts regulations for the formation 

of a regular army. 

(3) It elects commissioners to the United 

States to solicit aid. 

b. The provisional government. 

(1) The quarrel between the governor and 
the council. 

c. The convention. 

(1) The declaration of independence March 

2, 1836. 
(a) Eeasons assigned in the declaration. 

(2) The constitution. 

(a) The president. 

(b) The congress. 

(c) The judicial system. 

(d) The slave trade. 

(3) The temporary government. 

(a) President Burnet and his first 
cabinet. 

5. The campaign of 1836. 

a. Military movements during the winter. 



OUTLINE 3QJ 

(1) The plan for an expedition to Mata- 

moros. 

(2) Johnson and Grant at San Patricio. 

(3) Fannin at Goliad. 

(4) Travis at the Alamo. 

(5) Failure to organize the regular army. 

b. The fall of the Alamo. 

(1) Travis calls for help. 

(2) Eeinforced by thirtj^-two men from 

Gonzales. 

(3) Fannin starts to his relief, but turns 

back. 

(4) Santa Anna storms the Alamo and kills 

its defenders. 

(5) The number of the Mexican force. 

(6) The results of the fall of the Alamo. 

(a) Arouses the Texans. 

(b) Makes Santa Anna reckless. 

c. General Houston's plan to relieve Travis. 

(1) He retreats from Gonzales to the 
Colorado. 

d. The fate of Johnson and Grant. 

e. Fannin at Goliad. 

(1) Fortification of Fort Defiance. 

(2) Delays obedience to General Houston's 

order to retreat to Victoria. 
(a) Waiting for Ward and King whom 
he had sent to Refugio — the fate 
of these companies. 

(3) The battle of the Coleto. 

(4) His surrender to Urrea. 

(5) The Goliad massacre. 

(a) Santa Anna responsible for this. 

f. General Houston retreats to the Brazos. 

g. The "runaway scrape." 

h. Santa Anna recklessly separates himself from 
his main army and marches to Galveston 
Bay. 

i. Houston blocks his return at San Jacinto. 



363 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

j. The battle of San Jacinto, April 'il, 1836. 
(1) The capture of Santa Anna. 
(3) Number of the Texans and Mexicans 
engaged in the battle, 
k. The Treaty of Velasco, May 14. 1836. 
(1) Its principal terms. 
(3) Its observance by the Mexican army. 
(3) Its violation by the Texans. 
1. The important results of the battle of San 
Jacinto. 
VII. The Eepublic of Texas: The Americans in Possession 
(1836-1846). 
A. Home affairs. 

1. The Eestoration of order after the war. 

a. The return home. Condition of the country. 

The brave spirit of the settlers. 

b. The imprisonment of Santa Anna. His com- 

plaints to President Burnet. His release. 

c. The other Mexican prisoners. 

at Galveston. Their release. 

d. The Texan army. Its size. Character of the 

men. Why not disbanded. President 
Houston's policy. 

e. The election of 1836. 

(1) Approval of the constitution. Declara- 
tion against its amendment except by 
a constitutional convention. 

(3) General Houston elected president. Other 
candidates. 

(3) The vote for annexation to the United 
States. 
3. The regular government of the republic. 

a. President Houston's first term (1836-1838). 

(1) Sketch of his life. 

(3) His policy toward Mexico. 

(3) His policy toward the Indians. 

(4) His policy toward the army. 

(5) His economy. 

b. Death of Stephen F. Austin. His great services 

to Texas. 



OUTLINE 363 

c. President Lamar's administration (1S38-1841). 

(1) Sketch of his life. 

(3^ His policy toward Mexico. 

(3) His policy toward the Indians. 

(4) His extravagance. 

d. President Houston's second term (1841-1844). 

(1) Eeversal of Lamar's policies. 

(2) Continuance of the policies of his first 

term, 
e President Jones's administration (1844-1846). 
(1) Sketch of his life. 

(3) His short term prevents him from accom- 

plishing important results. 
3 The financial affairs of the republic. 

a. The debt of the republic in 1836. How it was 

incurred, 

b. The expenses of the government. 

c. Efforts of the government to get money. By 

sale of pul^lic land. By taxes. By customs 
duties. By borrowing. By making paper 
money. 

d. Why the government failed to get enough 

money. 

e. The debt of the republic in 1846. 

4. Indian troubles. 

a. The Indians kept quiet during the Texas 

Eevolution. 

b. President Houston's gentle policy keeps the 

Indians peaceable. His plan for stores and 
blockhouses. The rangers. 

c. President Lamar's aggressive policy. His poor 

opinion of Indian character. His experience 
with Indians in Georgia. The Mexicans 
stir up the Indians against the Texans. 

d. The removal of the Cherokees from Texas 

(1839). 

e. War with the Comanches. 

(1) The Council House fight (1840). 

(2) The battle of Plum Creek (1840). 
1. President Houston restores peace. 



364 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

g. The importance of these Indian troubles. 

(1) They were expensive. 

(2) They checked the settlement of frontier. 
5. The growth of population and wealth. 

a. Why settlers came to Texas. From Germany. 

From the United States, 

b. The rapid immigration between 1836 to 1846. 

c. Where the immigrants settled. 

d. The homestead law. 

e. Beginning of public school system. 

f. Prosperity of the settlers in 1846. 

g. Summary. 
B. Foreign affairs. 

1. Relations with European powers. 

a. Eecognition of the independence of Texas. 

b. England's interest in Texas. 

(1) England's interest in Mexico delays 

recognition of Texas. 

(2) England desires Texas on account of its 

cotton fields. 

(3) England desires Texas in order to abolish 

slavery. 

2. Eelations with Mexico. 

a. Mexico's refusal to give up Texas. 

b. Trouble at home prevents Mexico from invading 

Texas. 

(1) President Houston's policy of letting 

Mexico alone. 

(2) President Lamar's aggressive policy. 

c. Texans help Mexican liberals try to establish 

the Republic of the Rio Grande. 

d. President Lamar sends out the Santa Fe 

expedition (1841). 

(1) Hardships of the expedition. 

(2) The Mexicans capture the expedition. 

(3) The imprisonment of the Texans. 

(4) The results of the expedition. 

(a) Expensive, 

(b) Angered Mexico. 



OUTLINE 365 

e. The Mexican invasion of San Antonio in March, 

1842. 

(1) President Houston moves the govern- 

ment to Houston. 

(2) The citizens of Austin refuse to allow 

the removal of the archives. The 
archive war. 

f. The Mexican invasion of September, 1842. 

(1) Capture of San Antonio. 

(2) Battle with Captain Caldwell's company. 

(3) Battle with Captain Dawson's men. 

g. The Mier expedition — the reply of the Texans 

to the invasion of September. 

(1) Houston's opposition to the expedition. 

(2) The attack on Mier. 

(3) The surrender of the Texans. The 

Mexicans violate the treaty. The 
march of the prisoners toward Mexico. 

(4) The escape of the Texans. Their re-cap- 

ture, and the drawing of the black 
beans. 

(5) Imprisonment of the Texans. Escape of 

General Green. Release of the pris- 
oners by Santa Anna. 

h. The Snively expedition. 

i. The end of the war. 

j. The Texas navy. 

(1) Its services to Texas. 

(2) President Houston's attitude toward the 

navy. 
Eelations with the United States. 

a. The United States refuses to annex Texas in 

1837. 
(1) Reasons for this: wished to avoid war 
with Mexico; many in United States 
opposed to extension of slave territory. 

b. The United States changes its mind and offers 

to annex Texas. 



366 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

(1) Eeasons for tins: saw commercial value 

of Texas; feared that England was 
trying to get it. 

(2) Mexico tries to prevent Texas from 

accepting annexation by offering to 
recognize its independence. 

(3) Texas accepts annexation. 

(4) The protest of Mexico. 

(5) Texas retains its public lands. The 

importance of this. 

(6) Summary. 

YIII. Early Statehood : From annexation to secession (184:6- 
1861). 

1. The organization of the state government. 

a. The changes in government made necessary by 
annexation. 

2. The war between the United States and Mexico. 

a. The causes of the war. 

(1) Mutual dislike of Americans and Mexi- 

cans. 

(2) Mexico resents the annexation of Texas. 

(3) The boundary dispute: jSTueces or Eio 

Grande ? 

b. The outbreak of the war (1846). 

c. The part of Texas in the war. 

d. The terms of peace (Guadalupe Hidalgo, 1848). 

(1) The Eio Grande fixed as the southern 

boundary of Texas. 

(2) A vast territory in the southwest ceded 

to the United States. 

(3) The United States pays Mexico fifteen 

million dollars. 

3. The New Mexico boundary dispute with the United 

States. 

a. Texas claims the country to the Bio Grande. 

b. The United States claims all the old province 

of New Mexico. 

c. Excitement in Texas ; threats of war. 

d. The compromise: Texas yields its claim for 

ten million dollars. 



OUTLINE 367 

4. The payment of the public debt. 

a. The loss of ciTstoms revenues leaves Texas 

unable to pay the debt. 

b. The debt is paid with money received from the 

United States in the boundary settlement. 

c. The remainder of this money used for internal 

improvements. 

5. The growth of population and industries. 

a. Immigration to Texas. 

(1) Where the immigrants came from. 

(2) The rapid increase of population. 

b. The removal of the Indians. 

c. The frontier is pushed westward. 

d. The chief occupations : stockraising and farm- 

ing. 

6. The beginning of railroads in Texas. 

a. The need of railroads in Texas. 

b. The first railroad. 

c. The development of railroads before 1861. 

7. The beginnings of the public school system. 

a. Lack of money delays the establishment of 

public schools. 

b. A start is made in 1854. 

8. The approach of civil war. 

a. The Xorth and the South disagree about 

slavery. 

(1) How slavery began in America. 

(2) Slavery disappears in the North and 

develops in the South. 

b. Some people in the jSTorth wish to al)olisli 

slavery — "abolitionists". 

c. The Southern states secede in 1860 and 1861. 

d. The North opposes secession. 

IX. Civil War and Eeconstruction (1861-1874). 
A. The Civil War (1861-1865). 

1. Texas secedes and joins the Confederate States. 

a. The Ordinance of Secession: (1) adopted by 
the convention; (2) ratified by the people. 



368 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

b. Governor Houston opposes secession and is 
deposed. 

2. The war in Texas. 

a. Volunteers from Texas in the Confederate 

army. 

b. The loss and recapture of Galveston. 

c. The repulse of Federal invasion at Sabine Pass. 

d. The Federals capture Brownsville. 

e. The repulse of Federal invasion by the Red 

Eiver. 

3. Politics and elections. 

a. Little attention given to politics during the war. 

b. Lubbock elected governor, 186L 

c. Murrah elected governor, 1863. 

4. Supplies furnished by Texas to the Confederacy. 

a. Foreign trade kept up through Mexico. 

b. The establishment of small factories in Texas. 

c. Food supplies from farms and ranches. 

5. Home life during the war. 

a. Scarcity of goods, and high prices. 

b. Anxiety and sorrow of those left at home. 

c. The women and children helped the soldiers. 

d. The loyalty of the slaves. 

6. The end of the war. 

a. General Lee surrenders at Appomattox, April 9, 

1865. 

b. The soldiers return home. 
B. Reconstruction (1865-1874). 

1. The occupation of Texas by the Federal forces. 

a. General Granger proclaims the slaves free, June 
19, 1865. 

2. President Johnson's plan of reconstruction. 

a. Wliat the Southern people were required to do. 

(1) Declare the ordinance of secession null 

and void. 

(2) Acknowledge the freedom of the slaves. 

(3) Annul the war debt of the state. 

b. Provisional government established by Governor 

A. J. Hamilton. 
(1) The difficulty of his task. 



OUTLINE 369 

(2) The appointment of officials. 

(3) A convention called. 

c. Regular civil government restored (1866). 

(1) The convention complies with the 

demands of the president. 
(3) The election of state officers — Throck- 
morton becomes governor. 
3. Congressional reconstruction. 

a. Congress rejects the plan of the president. 

(1) The radicals in Congress wish to place 

harder conditions on the South. 

(2) Southern senators and representatives are 

refused seats in Congress. 

b. Congress adopts a plan of its own. 

(1) The Southern states placed under mili- 

tary rule. 

(2) The negroes to be given the right to vote. 

(3) The South must ratify the fourteenth 

amendment to the constitution of the 
United States. 

c. Military rule under General Sheridan. 

(1) Removal of Governor Throckmorton; 

appointment of Pease. 

(2) Removal of state and county officials. 

(3) Increase of lawlessness. 

(4) The disfranchisement of ex-Confederates. 

d. The problem concerning the negroes. 

(1) The negroes quit work after emancipa- 

tion. 

(2) The work of the Freedman's Bureau. 

(3) The organization of Union Leagues to 

control negro votes. 

(4) The Ku Klux Klan and its work. 

e. A state government established. 

(1) The constitutional convention of 1868- 
1869. 

(a) The radicals gain control of the 

convention. 

(b) A new constitution ratified by the 

people. 



370 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

(2) E. J. Davis elected governor, 1869. 

(3) The new legislature ratifies the four- 

teenth and fifteenth amendments to 
the constitution of the United States. 

(4) Texas readmitted to the Union. 

4. Radical rule under Governor Davis. 

a. The policies of Governor Davis. 

(1) His lack of confidence in the people. 

(2) Extraordinary powers given him by the 

legislature. 

(a) The state police. 

(b) Military powers exercised by Davis. 

b. Heavy taxation. 

(1) Eeckless expenditures by the legislature. 

(2) The taxpayers' convention, 1871. 

5. The overthrow of radical rule. 

a. The Democrats elect congressmen, 1871. 

b. A Democratic legislature elected, 1872. 

c. Davis defeated by Coke, 1873. 

d. Coke inaugurated as governor after resistance 

by Davis, January, 1874. 

e. The constitution of 1876. 

X. Affairs in Texas since reconstruction, 1874-1912. 

1. Ee-election of Coke and Hubbard, 1876. 

2. Financial condition of Texas in 1876. 

a. Public debt. Grant of state bonds to railroads. 

b. High tax rate. 

3. How this condition was improved. 

a. Reduction of running expenses. 

b. Lands given the railroads instead of bonds. 

c. Governor Roberts's "pay as you go" policy. 

d. Results. 

4. The restoration of public order. 

a. Land thieves and other criminals prosecuted. 

b. Fence cutting suppressed by Governor Ireland. 

5. The new capitol building. 

a. Burning of old capitol, 1881. 

b. New building completed and dedicated, 1888. 

c. Description of the new building. 



OUTLINE 371 

6. The loss of Greer County. 

a. How the controversy arose from the treaty of 

1819 with Spain. 

b. Decision of the Supreme Court against Texas, 

1896. 

7. Governor Hogg and raih-oacl regulation. 

a. Why the railroads needed regulating. 

(1) High rates. 

(3) Special rates to favored shippers and 
favored towns. 

(3) The free pass evil. 

(4) The railroad pool. 

b. Creation of the Railroad Commission, 1891. 

(1) The first railroad commissioners. 

( 2 ) The fight on the railroad commission : 

(a) in the courts; (b) in the election 
of 1892 ; the attempt to defeat Gov- 
ernor Hogg. 

8. Trust regulation. 

a. The anti-trust laws. 

b. Prosecutions under the laws. The Waters- 

Pierce Oil Company case. 

9. The Spanish War, 1898. 

a. Causes of the war. 

(1) Spanish oppression in Cuba. 

(2) Blowing up of the Maine. 

b. The part played by Texans in the war. 

10. Flood and storm. 

a. Overflows on the Brazos and other streams, 

1899, 1902. 

b. The Galveston storm, 1900. 

(1) Loss of life and property. 

(2) The restoration of Galveston. The sea- 

wall. The grade-raising. The cause- 
way. 

(3) The sea-wall tested by the storm of 

1909. 

11. The commission form of city government. 

a. Its origin in Galveston after the storm. 

b. All powers given to five commissioners. 



372 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS 

c. Spread of commission govermiiont to otlier 
cities and states. 

12. Political parties in Texas. 

a. The Democratic party and its work. 

b. The Eepublican party. 

c. Other parties. The Greenback party. The 

Populist party. The Prohibition party. 
The Socialist party. 

13. The primary election law. 

a. The objects of the law. 

( 1 ) To purify elections by requiring voters to 

register and pay a pool tax. 

(2) To nominate candidates by popular 

elections. 

b. Working of the law in the elections of 1906 

and 1910. 
11. The prohibition question. Prohibition elections of 
1887 and 1911. 
XL Material Growth Since Eeconstruction. 
1. Increase in population and wealth. 

a. Growth of population. 

b. Character of population. White, foreign, 

colored. 

c. Growth of Texas cities. 

(1) The drift from country to city. 

(2) Galveston and San Antonio. 

(3) Houston and Dallas. 

(4) Fort Worth and El Paso. 

(5) Austin and AVaco. 

(6) Civic improvements. Paving, water, 

light, and street railways. Parks and 
public buildings. 

d. Growth of taxable wealth. 

(1) Taxable values in 1870, in 1890, and in 

1910. 

(2) Causes of the increase of wealth. 

(a) Apparent increase due to increased 

assessment. 

(b) Increase in land values due to 

growth of population. 



OUTLINE 373 

Development of agriculture. 

a. Conditions favoral)le to agriculture. 

(1) Fertile soils of many varieties. 

(2) Favorable climate of varied temperature 

and rainfall. 

b. Cotton culture. 

(1) Spread of cotton growing to the prairie 

regions. 

(2) Extent and value of the cotton crop. 

(3) Eavages of the boll weevil. 

(4) Value and uses of cotton seed. 

c. The grain crops. 

(1) All the grains combined of loss value 

than cotton. 

(2) Corn the most important cereal. Extent 

and value of the crop. 

(3) Wheat and oats. 

(4) Eice. Eapid increase in acreage. 

d. The forage crops. Hay, sorghum, milo maize, 

and kaffir corn. 

e. Fruit growing and market gardening. 

(1) Conditions favorable for early growing 

and marketing. 

(2) Extent of the fruit and truck business. 

f. Irrigation. Extent and location. 

g. Better methods of agriculture. 

(1) "Work of the Agricultural and Mechanical 

College. 

(2) Work of the United States Department 

of Agriculture. 

(3) Farmers' aid societies. 
The live stock industry. 

a. The cattle industry. 

(1) Early development of cattle raising. The 

cattle trails to the North. 

(2) Breeding fine cattle made possible by 

fencing the range and cutting up the 
large ranches. 

b. Horses. The mustang pony gives place to the 

draft horse. 



374 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

c. Mules. Texas the leading mule producing state. 

d. Sheep. Decline of sheep industry since 1890. 

e. Growth of the goat industry. Reasons. 

f. Hog raising. 

4. Development of means of communication. 

a. Early means of transportation. 

( 1 ) The ox-wagon. Distance to market. 

(2) The stage coach. Stage lines. The San 

Diego stage line. 

b. Beginning of railroad building (1850-1860). 

c. Effect of the Civil War. 

(1) Building of railways stopped. 

(3) One road torn up and two abandoned. 

d. Revival of railway building after the war. 

(1) Building from 1868 to 1873. 

(2) Mileage in 1880. 

(3) Present mileage the largest in the Union. 
6. Public aid to the railroads. 

(1) Private subscriptions in money and 

lands. 

(2) Bonds given by counties and cities. 

(3) Loans from the state school fund. 

(4) Grants of public lands by the state. 

f. Eiver improvement. 

(1) Early attempts by the state to improve 

the rivers. 

(2) Recent work of the Federal government. 

g. Harbor improvement at Galveston and other 

ports, 
h. The Houston ship canal. Expenditures. 

Results, 
i. The good roads movement. 

5. Mining and manufacturing. 

a. Minerals produced in Texas. Coal, iron, quick- 

silver, crude oil and natural gas. 

b. Growth of manufactures. 

(1) Reasons for slow growth. 
^2) Products manufactured. 

c. The lumber industry. Timber supply limited. 



OUTLINE 375 

XII. Education and Public Charity. 

1. Need of public free schools in a republic. 

2. Early attempts to establish a public school system. 

a. Provision for free schools in the constitution 

of the republic, 1836. 

b. Lands set apart during Lamar s administration. 

c. Eeasons for failure of early attempts. 

(1) Lack of funds to support the schools. 

(2) Sparseness of population. 

(3) Wars with Mexico and the general con- 

fusion of the time. 

3. Development of the school system. 

a. Beginning of permanent school fund, 1854. 

b. Public school system organized, 1854. 

e. Effect of Civil War. Schools stopped. Funds 
lost. 

d. Enrollment in the schools in 1875 and 1910. 

4. The permanent school fund. 

a. Derived from sale of public lands. 

b. Amount of the permanent fund, 

5. The available school fund. 

a. Amount of the available fund. 

b. Sources from which derived. 

(1) One half derived from the state. 

(a) Income from lands and bonds 

belonging to the permanent school 
fund. 

(b) State taxes. Poll tax. Ad valorem 

tax. Occupation tax. 

(2) One half derived from counties, cities, 

and school districts. 

(a) Income from lands and bonds held 

by counties. 

(b) Local property tax for school pur- 

poses. 

6. Defects of our school system. 

a. Poor buildings. 

b. Short terms. 

c. Small salaries and poorly prepared teachers. 



376 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS 

7. Recent progress in the public school system. 

8. The University of Texas. 

a. Early attempts to establish a university. 

b. University opened for students, 1883. 

c. Its growth to 1912. 

9. The Agricultural and Mechanical. College. 

a. Federal land grant for agricultural colleges 

accepted by Texas, 1871. 

b. The college opened 1876. 

c. Courses of study offered. 

10. The Girls' Industrial College established, 1903. 

11. The State Normal Schools. 

a. Sam Houston Normal Institute established, 

1879. 

b. North Texas State Normal College, 1901. 

c. Southwest Texas State Normal School, 1903. 

d. West Texas State Normal College, 1910. 

e. Management of the normal schools placed in the 

hands of special board, 1911. 

12. The Prairie View Normal and Industrial College. 

13. Church Schools and Colleges. 

a. Baylor University and other Baptist schools. 

b. Southwestern University and the Southern 

Methodist University. 

c. Texas Christian University. 

d. Other church schools. 

14. The state's care of the unfortunate classes. 

15. How the state handles the criminal classes. 



APPENDIX IV 



PRESIDENTS AND GOVERNORS OF TEXAS 

Presidents of the Repuhlic 

1836— March- October, David G. Burnet 

1836— Sam Houston 

1838 — Mirabeau B. Lamar 

1840 — David G. Burnet (Acting President) 

1841 — Sam Houston 

1845 — Anson Jones 

Governors of the State 

1846 — James P. Henderson 
1847— George T. Wood 

1849— P. Hansborougli Bell 
1853— E. M. Pease. 
1857— Hardin E. Eunnels 
1859— Sam Houston 
1861— Edward Clark 
1861 — Francis E. Lubbock 
1863— Pendleton Murrah 

1865 — Andrew J. Hamilton (Provisional Governor) 
1866— James W. Throckmorton 
1867 — E. M. Pease (Provisional Governor) 
1870— Edmund J. Davis 
1874— Eichard Coke 
1876— Eichard B. Hubbard 
1879— Oran M. Eoberts 
1883— John Ireland 
1887 — Lawrence S. Eoss 
1891 — James S, Hogg 
1895— Charles A. Ciilberson 
1899— Joseph D. Sayers 
1903— Samuel W. T. Lanham 
1907— Thomas M. Campbell 
1911 — Oscar Branch Colquitt 

377 



INDEX 



Abolitionists, 205. 

Adaes (A-dy'-as) Mission, 39. 

Agriculture, development of since 
1870, 283-289; favorable con- 
ditions for, 283 ; better meth- 
ods of, 287. 

Agricultural and Mechanical Col- 
lege, 317. 

Aguayo (A-gwu'-yo), Marques 
de, 40, 41, 43. 

Alamo, 31, 79; fall of, 118. 

Annexation of Texas, 182 ; causes 
war with Mexico, 189. 

Anti-trust laws, 258-259. 

Apache Indians, 33, 37. 

Archer, Branch T., 108, 137. 

''Archive War," the, 174. 

Arrendondo (Ar-ra-don-do), Gen- 
eral, 51, 56. 

Arroyo Hondo (Ar-ro'-yo 6n'-do), 
49. 

Austin, growth of, 280. 

Austin College, 324. 

Austin, Moses, 66, 67, 80. 

Austin, Stephen Fuller, estab- 
lishes his colony, 67 ; opposes 
Fredonian rebellion, 86 ; sent 
to Mexico by colonists, 94; im- 
prisonment, 95 ; return to 
Texas, 100; services during the 
revolution, 101, 105, 106, 137; 
candidate for president, 149; 
death, 153 ; sketch of, 153-155. 

Bastrop, Baron, 67. 
Baylor University, 323. 
Bay of the Holy Spirit (Mata- 
gorda Bay), 12. 
Bean, Peter Ellis, 53, 86, 91. 
Bell, Governor P. H., 194. 
Black beans, drawing of, 177. 
Boll weevil, 284. 



Boundary settlement with the 

United States, 195. 
Bowie, James, 103, 115, 119. 
Boys' Corn Club, 288-289. 
Bradburn, Colonel John, 91, 92, 

97. 
Brazos floods, 261. 
Brownsville, capture of, 217. 
Burleson, General Edward, 105, 

192. 
Burnet, David G., 70, 111, 112, 

136, 147, 149, 150. 
Cabeza de Vaca (Ka-ba'-sii da 

Vii'-ka), 3, 4. 
Caldwell, Captain Matthew, 175. 
Campbell, Governor T. M., 270 

and note. 
Capitol, old capitol burned, 249; 

new capitol erected, 249-251. 
' ' Carpet-baggers, ' ' 229. 
Cattle raising, 289-290. 
Cherokee Indians, 86 ; removal 

from Texas, 162. 
' ' Chisholm Trail, ' ' 290. 
Church schools and colleges, 322. 
Cities, growth of, 277-280. 
Civic improvement, 280. 
Civil War, causes of, 203-208; 

Texas in, 214; supplies fur- 
nished by Texas, 218; home 

life during, 219. 
Clark, Governor Edward, 212, 

217. 
Coal, 300. 
Coke, Governor Richard, 237 

note; governor, 238, 243; 

senator, 245. 
Coleto, battle of, 126. 
Collinsworth, George M., 103. 
Colquitt, Governor O. B., 270- 

271 and note. 
Columbus, Christopher. 1, 10. 



379 



380 



INDFT' 



Comanche Indians, 37; wars, 
163-164. 

Commission government estab- 
lished at Galveston, 265, 

Concepcion, battle of, 104. 

Concepcion Mission, 29, 32, 33. 

Confederate States of America, 
Texas joins, 210-211; volun- 
teers from Texas for, 213; sup- 
plies from Texas for, 218; 
Fall of, 222. 

Conference for Education, 314. 

Consolidation of rural schools, 
314. 

Constitution of 1836, 111; of 
1845, 188; of 1869, 232; of 
1876, 238. 

Consultation, 1835, 108. 

Convention of 1833, 94; of 1836, 
109; of 1866, 225. 

Corn growing, 285. 

Coronado (Ko-ro-nli'-do), Cap- 
tain, 4, 12. 

Cos, General M. P., 106. 

Cotton, culture, 283; seed, 284; 
damage to by boll weevil, 284. 

"Council House Fight," the, 
163. 

Criminal Classes, 325. 

Crockett, Davy, 115, 119. 

Culberson, Governor C. A., 259 
and note. 

Dallas, growth of, 279. 

Davidson, R, V., Attorney Gen- 
eral, 258-259. 

Davis, Governor Edmund J., 233 
and note; oppressive govern- 
ment of, 235-236; defeated 
for re-election, 236-238. 

Davis, Jefferson, 206. 

Dawson, Captain Nicholas, 175. 

Declaration of Independence, 
109; text of, 329-333. 

De-Witt, Green 70. 

Democratic party, 267. 

Dolores, (Do-lo-ras) Mission, 29. 

Dowling, Dick, 216. 

Education and Public Charity, 
308-326. 



Edwards, Benjamin W., 85, 86. 
Edwards, Hayden, 70, 85, 86, 87. 
Emancipation proclamation, 223. 
El Paso, growth of, 279. 
England, 10, 47; interest in 
Texas, 170. 

Farmers' aid societies, 288-289. 

Farmers' Alliance, 267, 289. 

Farmers' Congress, 289. 

Farmers' Union, 289. 

Federal invasion attempted, by 
way of Galveston, 215; by way 
of Sabine Pass, 216; by way 
of Brownsville, 217. 

Fence cutting suppressed, 248. 

Financial conditions, 157-160, 
196, 245-247. 

Fisher, Colonel William S,, 177. 

Forage crops, 286. 

Fort Saint Louis, 7, 15-17. 

Fort Worth, growth of, 279. 

Foster, L. L., railroad commis- 
sioner, 256. 

Franciscans, 15. 

Fredonian Eebellion, 84-87. 

Freedman's Bureau, 229. 

Fourteenth and Fifteenth 
Amendments, 234 note. 

French settlements, in America, 
5-6; in Texas, 7-9, 15, 39-40; 
in Louisiana, 22 ; end of, 41. 

Fruit growing in Texas, 286. 

Galveston, capture and retaking 
of, 214; swept by storm, 261- 
^3; restoration of, 263-264; 
adopts commission government, 
265; growth of, 278; harbor, 
298. 

Galveston causeway, 264. 

Galveston sea-wall, 263; sea-wall 
tested, 264-265. 

General Council, 108. 

Germans in Texas, 165. 197, 277. 

Girls' Industrial College, 319. 

Goat Raising, 292. 

Goliad, founding of, 41 ; cap- 
ture of, 102; the Goliad Mas- 
sacre, 128-130. 



'NDEX 



381 



Gonzales, battle of, 100; burned, 
122. 

Grain crops in Texas, 285-286. 

Grange, 267, 288. 

Granger, General Gordon, 223. 

Grant, Dr. James, 112, 115, 122. 

"Grass fight," the, 105. 

Green, General T. J., 178. 

Greenlaack party, 267. 

Green County Controversy, 251- 
253. 

Guadalupe Hidalgo, treaty of, 
192. 

Guadalupe (Gwa-dii-loop'-y) Mis- 
sion, 29. 

Gutierrez, Bernardo (Ber-naiir'- 
do Go6-te-ar'-ras), 53, 54. 

Hamilton, Governor A. J., 225 
and note. 

Harbor improvements, 298. 

Harrisburg, 79 ; burned, 133. 

Hasinai (Ha-see'-ny) Indians, 
24, 25. 

Hays, Jack, 192. 

Henderson, Governor J. Pinck- 
ney, 192. 

Hidalgo (E-dal'-go), Father, 23, 
24, 25. 

Hogg, Governor James Stephen, 
253 and note; champions the 
railroad commission and is 
elected governor, 255-256 ; ap- 
points first railroad commis- 
sioners, 256-257 ; re-elected 
governor, 257-258. 

Hog raising, 293. 

Horse raising, 291. 

Houston, growth of, 278; ship 
canal, 299. 

Houston, Sam, -writes Constitu- 
tion of 1833, 94; Commander- 
in-chief, 108 ; campaign of 
1836, 121-122, 130-136; at San 
Jacinto, 134-136; elected presi- 
dent, 150; sketch of, 150,152; 
second term as president, 156 ; 
Indiai. policy, 160, 164; tries 
to prevent secession, 212; 
death, 212 



Homestead law, the, 167. 

Hubbard, Governor Richard B., 
244 note; elected lieutenant 
governor, 237; becomes gov- 
ernor, 244. 

Immigration to Texas, 66-73, 
164-168, 197. 

Indians, removal from Texas, 
198. 

Ireland, Governor John, 247 and 
note. 

Iron, 300-301. 

Irrigation, 286, 287. 

Iturbide (Ee-toor-bee'-da), Gen- 
eral, 64. 

.lohnson, President Andrew, 224. 
Johnson, F. W., 112, 115, 122. 
Johnston, Albert Sidney, 192. 
Jones, Anson, president of Texas, 
156, 182. 

Karankawa (Ka-rank'-a-way) In- 
dians, 33, 40. 
Ku Klux Klan, 231-232. 

Lafitte, Jean (Zhan La-fit'), 58. 
Lamar, Mirabeau B., sketch of, 

155; president of Texas, 155- 

156 ; Indian policy, 161 ; sends 

expedition to Sante Fe, 172. 
Lanham, Governor S. W. T., 268 

and note. 
La Salle, Eobert de la, 5-10; 13- 

15. 
Law of April 6, 1830, 89. 
Lee, General Eobert E., 222 and 

note. 
Leon, Alonso de (X-lon'so da La- 

6n'), Capt., 14-17. 
Leon, Martin de (Marteen' da 

La-on'), 70. 
Levee districts, 261. 
Lignite, 301. 
Lively (schooner), 68. 
Live stock industry, 289-293. 
Long, Dr. James, 56, 57, 59. 
Lopez, Nicholas (Nick-o-las' Lo'- 

pes), Father, 13. 



382 



INDEX 



Lubbock, Governor F. E., 217, 

218 note, 252. 
Lumber industry, 302-303. 

McCulloeh, Ben, 192. 
McKinney, Thomas F., 79. 
McLean, Judge W. P., railroad 

commissioner, 256. 
McMullen and McGloin, 70. 
Magee, Lieutenant Augustus, 53, 

54, 56. 
Magruder, General J. B., recap- 
tures Galveston, 215. 
Manufacturing, 301. 
Martin, Captain Albert, 116. 
Massanet (Ma-sU-nef), Father, 

15-19. 
Mata, Francisco de la (Fran- 

cees'-c5 da lil Mii'-ta), 38. 
Material development since 1870, 

276-305. 
Medina, battle of, 55. 
Mendoza (Men-do'-sa), Captain, 

13. 
Mexican War, 188-193. 
Mexican prisoners, 148. 
Mier Expedition, the, 175. 
Milam, Benjamin R., 70, 103; 

storms San Antonio, 106. 
Military occupation of Texas in 

1865, 223; military govern- 
ment, 227. 
Mining, 300, 301. 
Missionaries, 12, 13, 19, 21, 35, 

36, 43. 
Missions, 17, 18, 19, 29, 34, 35. 
Moore, Commodore E. W., 180. 
Moore, Colonel .John, 164. 
Mule raising, 292. 
Murrah, Governor Pendleton, 218 

and note. 
Musquiz (Mus-kees'), Lieutenant, 

51. 

Nacogdoches, founding of, 41. 

Navy, the Texas, 179. 

Negroes, conditions of during re- 
construction, 230 ; in the Union 
League, 231 ; frightened by 
the Ku Klux, 231-232; in the 



Convention of 1868-1869, 232- 

233; given the right to vote, 

232, 234 note. 
Neutral Ground, 50-54. 
Nolan, Philip, 51. 
Normal Schools, 319. 
North Texas State Normal 

School, 321. 

Oil, crude, 300-301. 

Olivares (6-lee-va-res), Father, 

30. 
Outline, 356-376. 

Paper money, 159. 

Patrons of Husbandry, 267, 288. 

Peace-pipe, 28. 

Pease, Governor E. M., 202, 229. 

Piedras, Colonel, 92. 

Plum Creek, battle of, 163, 

Political parties, 265-268. 

Population of Texas, in 1835, 71 ; 
in 1846. 166; in 1850, 197; 
growth since 1870, 276-280. 

Populist party, 267. 

Prairie View Normal and Indus- 
trial College, 322. 

Primary election law, 268. 

Prohibition party, 268. 

Prohibition elections, 272. 

Provisional government estab- 
lished, 225. 

Public lands, 183. 

Quicksilver, 300-301, 

Radical government in Texas, its 
oppressive character, 235; its 
extravagance, 235-237 ; av&r- 
thrown, 236-238. 

Railroads, need of, 200; begin- 
ning of railroad building, 200, 
294; at the outbreak of Civil 
War, 201; effect of Civil War 
on, 295; revival of railroad 
building, 295 ; public aid to, 
296-297. 

Railroad Commission, 253-255; 
first raih'oad commissioners, 
256-257; commission law up- 



INDEX 



383 



he!(l. 257; control over stocks 
anil bonds, 258. 

Ramon, Diego (Dee-a'go Ra- 
mon';, Capt., 25. 

Ramon, Domingo (D6-meen'go 
Ra-mon'), Capt., 27-30. 

l?e-ailniission of Texas to the 
Uiiioii, 234. 

Reagan, Judge John H., 206, 256 
and rote. 

Reconstruction, 223-240; the 
probbm of, 223; the presi- 
dent's plan of, 224; accepted 
hy Texas, 225-226; rejected 
by C. ngress, 227; hardships of, 
229; condition of negroes dur- 
ing, 230 ; reconstruction con- 
vention of 1868-69, 232-234; 
Texas re-admitted to the Union, 
234; oppressive character of 
reconstruction g o v e r n m e nt, 
235: end of reconstruction, 
236-: 39. 

I?3publican party, 266. 

I'.epubiic of the Rio Grande, 171. 

devolution, general causes, 83.; 

immediate causes, 97 ; aided by 

the United States, 137-138; 

con dtions at the close of, 144- 

146. 

Rice Culture in Texas, 285. 

Rice lustitute, 324. 

Rice. William Marsh, 324. 

Jviver improvement, 297. 

iloads, good roads movement, 
SCO, 

Rob^;rt3, Governor O. M., 246 
note ■ his financial I'ef orms, 
245-246; 252. 

Robinsoii, James W., 108. 

Roosevelt's Rough Riders, 260. 

■^oss,< Governor Lawrence Sulli- 
van, 250 and note, 252. 
'Runaway Scrape," the, 131. 

Runnels, Governor Hardin R., 210 
note. 

Rusk, General Thomas J., Ill, 
148. 

-;abint> Pass, battle of, 216. 



Saint-Denis (San Denee'), 23-28 
39. 

Saint Francis of Assisi (As-see'- 
zee), 15. 

Sam Houston Normal Institute, 
319. 

San Antonio, founding of, 30- 
32; early school in, 38; cap- 
ture of, 107; invasions of in 
1842, 174, 175; growth of 
since 1870, 278. 

San Antonio Road, 27, 28. 

San Felipe de Austin (San Fa- 
lee'-pa-dcl), 79, 81, 132. 

San Fernando Cathedral, 32. 

San Francisco of the Neches, 
Mission, 29. 

San Francisco of the T jas. Mis- 
sion, 17-19. 

San Jacinto, battle of, 1.33; re- 
sults of, 137. 

San Joseph (Siin Ho-sef) Mis- 
sion, 29. 

San Jose (Ho-sa') Mission, 32. 

San Juan (San Whaun') Mis- 
sion, 32, 33. 

San Miguel (Mee-g^d') Mission, 
29, 39. 

Santa Anna, 64; causes Texas 
revolution, 97; orders Goliad 
massacre, 130; trapped at San 
Jacinto, 132-133 ; imprison- 
ment, 146. 

Santa Fe Expedition, 172. 

Sayers, Governor J. D., 262 and 
note. 

"Scalawags," 229. 

Schools, early schools, 38, 80; 
beginning of public school sys- 
tem, 167, 202, 309-310; need 
of public schools, 308 ; perma- 
nent school fund, 311 ; avail- 
able school fund, 312; defects 
of the school system, 313; re- 
cent progress, 314. 

Secession, 205; the North op- 
poses, 206; Ordinance of, 211. 

Sheep industry, 292. 

Sheridan, General Philip, 227, 
228, 229. 



384 



INDEX 



Slavery question, the beginning 

of, 203. 
Slaves, loyalty of, 221. 
Smith, Deaf, 104. 
Smith, Henry, 108, 114, 150. 
Snively expedition, 178. 
Socialist party, 268. 
Southwestern University, 323. 
Southwest Texas Normal, 321. 
Spanish-American War, 258-260. 
Spanish settlements, 33, 34-39. 
Stage travel, 294. 
Suggestions to teachers, 334-355. 

Taxable wealth, growth of since 

1870, 280; causes for increase 

of, 292. 
Tax-payert ' Convention of 1871, 

236 and 'ote. 
Tejas Indiana, 16-19, 28, 42. 
Terrell, Judgt A. W., 269 and 

note; electior law, 269. 
Texas Christian University, 323. 
Texas, origin of name, 16. 
Throckmorton, Governor J. W., 

226 and note, removed from 

office, 228. • 
Toledo (To-la'-do), Colonel, 55. 
Tonkawas (Tonk'a-ways), 78. 
Travis, W. B., drives Mexicans 

from Anahuac, 98 ; Santa Anna 

orders his arrest, 99; at the 

Alamo, 115-120. 



Transportation, 293-300 ; early 

means of, 293. 
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 

192. 
Treaty of Velasco, 136. 
Trinity University, 324. 
"Twin Sisters" (cannon), 131. 

Ugartechea (U-giir-te-chri'-a), 

Domingo de, 92, 107. 
Union League, 231. 
United States, interest in Texas, 

83, 138, 139, 181; anm^xation 

of Texas, 182. 
University of Texas, 314. 
Urrea (Ur-ra'ii), General, 123, 

128, 129. 

Velasco, battle of, 92; treaty of, 
136, 

Waco, growth of, 280. 
Waters-Pierce Oil Company, 25.S. 
West Texas State Normal, 3i-'2. 
Wharton, William H., 108, 137. 
Williams, Samuel M., 79. 
Wood, Governor George T., 192, 
194. 

Ybarbo, Gil (Heel E-bilr'-l.o), 
42, 44. 

Zavala, Lorenzo de, 70, 111. 



I. 



